Violet Berry
Violet Berry is a junior at Eastern Washington University. They are an English Studies major with two minors: Disability Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies. Their research interests include AI/human relationships and the cultural ideas and representations of sex as it relates to different identities. Violet is currently the president of EWU’s The English Club—a campus club geared towards those with a penchant towards various forms of media. An active student at EWU, Violet has been on the Dean’s List every quarter since Fall 2022. Violet’s goals include attaining her Master’s and PhD, becoming a researcher and professor—inspiring the next generation of feminist scholars.
2025 EWU Faculty Research Mentor: Dr. Mimi Marinucci
Unreal Women: Symbolic Sexisms and the Redditor’s Replika Companion
Abstract: With the drastic improvements of emotional AI and AI chatbots, it becomes increasingly important to examine these technologies and their effects. The purpose of this paper is to examine the symbolism between the treatment, ideas, mythologies, and language used against the AI chatbot Replika and the treatment of real people. This research was done through looking in-depth at various academic articles, literature, and feminist, literary, and imaginative theory. Findings of this research indicate a constant theme of replicated imaginaries—from the real to the technological. These include gendered personality traits, sexual expectations, and gendered expectations of appearance.
