Female computer science professor blasts the sexist geeks she says show 'stagg
Source: Chris Summers

Ursula Martin portrayed male scientists as similar to the sexist geeks in The Big Bang Theory (pictured) which stars (left to right) Howard (Simon Helberg), Rajesh (Kunal Nayyar) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki) as scientists who sometimes fail to see the viewpoints of women like Amy (Mayim Bialik, far right)

Sexist geeks who built a prototype of an 'enhanced human' which was entirely male have been lambasted by one of Britain's leading computer scientists.

Ursula Martin, a professor of computer science at Oxford University, said it was a symptom of the 'staggering sexism' in the industry.

She said there was still an anti-female bias and conjured up a picture of male academics like the characters of Sheldon Cooper and Rajesh Koothrappali in The Big Bang Theory, who struggled to engage with women or understand the female viewpoint.


The Times reported that Prof Martin told an audience at the Hay Festival she was shocked to discover some of the attitudes of male computer scientists when she visited the Microsoft research laboratory in Cambridge this week.

She said: 'I was absolutely staggered at the sexism on show.'

Prof Martin said there was a symposium on artificial intelligence and a presentation was given about the 'vision of what an enhanced human would be'.
This vision of a new kind of humanity was an entirely male vision
Ursula Martin

She said the new human was 'faster and more physically energetic' but added: 'This was so clearly a male type of enhanced human. This vision of a new kind of humanity was an entirely male vision.'

Prof Martin pointed out the absence of female attributes in the new, advanced human to the person who made the presentation and he had simply responded: 'I suppose'.

A Microsoft spokesman told Mail Online: 'At the Artificial Intelligence Symposium held at Microsoft Research in Cambridge on May 26, there were many external speakers from across academia.

'Contrary to some media reports, the only Microsoft employees who presented at the symposium were women.

'Microsoft is committed through a range of programs such as Make What’s Next to increase the number of women in Computer Science.'

Prof Martin was at the Hay Festival to discuss the contribution to science of Ada Lovelace, a 19th century visionary who foresaw the existence of computers.

She said 'people were making enormous attempts to counter this (sexism)' but there was clearly a lot more to be done.

She said universities had attempted to encourage more women to enrol on science and maths courses but 'did not always get it right'.


Last year Nobel prizewinner Sir Tim Hunt was criticised for making comments about women being a distraction in science laboratories.

He said: 'Let me tell you about my trouble with girls.

'Three things happen when they are in the lab: you fall in love with them, they fall in love with you, and when you criticise them, they cry.’

The 72-year-old later claimed he had been 'hung out to dry' by a feminist 'lynch mob'.




Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) in an episode of The Big Bang Theory. Sheldon's character is hugely intelligent but has little perception of what his scientist girlfriend Amy wants