How I Created PausePal

Last week, I shared how you can easily create your own chatbot using accessible tools and frameworks. This week, I’m excited to introduce PausePal, the chatbot I created, and highlight the Feminist Design Tool that guided its development.

🔍 What is the Feminist Design Tool?

It’s a guide designed to help us reflect on the values embedded in our designs, ensuring we don’t unknowingly perpetuate biases or inequalities. Whether you’re building a chatbot, an AI-powered agent, or any other technology, this tool offers a framework for creating more equitable and inclusive solutions—extending far beyond feminism.

🤔 Why does this matter?

Traditional design approaches often cater to a "universal user," which can overlook specific needs. The Feminist Design Tool challenges this by encouraging us to:

- Identify and prioritize stakeholders who may not be well-served by mainstream solutions.

- Reflect on team biases to avoid reinforcing stereotypes.

- Design AI with inclusive language and empathetic interactions.

- Be mindful of ethical implications, such as data usage and technical architecture.

PausePal was created to help 11 to 14-year-olds reflect on whether something is appropriate to share via messaging. It focuses on fostering kindness, confidence, and thoughtful communication. Currently in its first phase, PausePal is a work in progress, and I’d love your feedback to help improve it!

💡 Try PausePal here: https://www.chatbase.co/chatbot-iframe/jcOAWLCbSEANTnF4wWFes

💡 Explore the Feminist Design Tool here: https://shorturl.at/Guh5P 

💬 Please share your own chatbots!