Genderify accused of gender bias

AI gender identification tool Genderify faced accusations of gender bias before being quickly shut down. 

An AI-powered API service launched in July 2020, Genderify claimed to be able to determine a person's gender from their name, email address or username and was was marketed as a tool for businesses to personalise communications and target marketing.

However, Genderify was criticised for producing biased and stereotypical results almost immediately after launch, including  misgendering people with non-Western names and demonstrating clear biases, such as associating terms like "doctor" with male and "nurse" with female. 

In addition, the company's API returned probabilities for only binary male/female options, ignoring non-binary identities.

Genderify was taken offline after a few days of intense criticism on social media, and the company's website and social media accounts deleted without explanation.