Google embraces gender pronouns at IO 2018 developer conference

Google’s IO 2018 developer conference gave Android users a glimpse of the upcoming year in new features. But it isn’t just the phones that have been updated — the conference ID badges have been too.

At Tuesday’s conference in Mountain View, California, Google allowed attendees to specify their gender pronouns right next to their name. While gender pronouns were added as a sticker and not printed on, attendees were offered the sticker at the exact booth they pick up their badges. If they want to clarify how they identify, they can.

The gender pronoun sticker isn’t mandatory, but at the very least Google presented showgoers the option.

At the conference, Google introduced new updates to Android, its voice assistant, Google Home, News and more. New features like Google Duplex allow your phone’s AI to call storefronts for you to schedule appointments so you don’t have to get on the phone while Google’s Amazon Echo competitor, Google Home, now offers a mode that requires users say “please” at the end of their query. Additionally, the voice assistant now offers one of six options, including John Legend.

Google IO 2018 lasts until Thursday.