In this episode of The WealthTech Insider, Danni Le Grande and Peter Worn unpack a deceptively simple question that opens a much bigger conversation: why do so many AI tools have human – and overwhelmingly female – names?
What starts as a light observation quickly turns into a deeper discussion about trust, subconscious design choices, and the risks of anthropomorphising technology in professional environments. From “Sophie the assistant” to “Colin from compliance”, Danni and Pete explore how naming AI shapes behaviour, lowers scepticism, and may lead us to over-trust systems that are still fallible – particularly in regulated industries like financial advice.
This isn’t a culture-war debate or an anti-AI rant. It’s a grounded conversation about awareness: how AI is being designed, why familiarity matters, and what professionals need to keep front-of-mind as human-like software becomes embedded in daily workflows.