by Adele

The New Age of Sexism: How AI, Chatbots and Deepfakes are Making the World More Dangerous for Women, by Laura Bates, reveals how global society’s failure to eradicate misogyny has allowed abuses and prejudices against women to be perpetuated through computer-based technology. Much of the technology is not inherently harmful and Bates describes people using it creatively and beneficially. She says, “We’ve arrived at a critical moment. We are building a whole new world, but the inequalities and oppression of our current society are being baked into its very foundations.” 

‘MALEVOLENT HUMANS’ AND THEIR INHUMAN TECHNOLOGY

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the ability of computer systems to perform tasks associated with human intelligence. There has long been concern, often expressed in science fiction, about potential harm AI could do to humanity. Bates explains AI does not have an intelligence of its own. “We should be less concerned about what a malevolent AI of the future might do and more concerned with what malevolent humans are doing right now with existing technology.”

One use of AI is making “deepfakes,” which include images or videos swapping one person’s body or face for another. There is concern about deepfakes’ ability to make politicians appear to make extremist statements with which they strongly disagree. While this occasionally happens, 96% of deepfakes consist of nonconsensual pornography with 99% of its victims being female. Women politicians, entertainers, and activists are targeted, sometimes getting them to leave their careers or become constantly vigilant.

Deepfake technology is so accessible that not only men but teenage boys worldwide make pornographic, often violent, videos and images. Perpetrators often know victims and send deepfakes to their phones. Victims experience shame and fear often compounded by harassment from others who have seen the images.

In 2023, the town of Almendralejo in Spain had an epidemic of boys aged 12 -14 sending deepfakes to over 20 girls aged 11-14. A victim’s mother, Dr. Miriam Al Adib, put a message on social media telling the boys, “You don’t appreciate the damage you’ve done.” Women and girls worldwide contacted her with their own stories. This helped the girls in Almendralejo to speak out together and shift the public opinion. The boys were too young to be charged but ceased harassment from public pressure.

MISOGYNY MUST BE OVERTHROWN

Perpetrators also share intimate images of female partners without permission. It may be impossible to take these down from internet porn sites since they are often digitally reproduced. “Image-based sexual abuse” is more accurate than “revenge porn” because the victim has not done anything wrong. Abusers do it for coercive control and to punish victims for leaving relationships. 

Bates describes the prevalence of sexual harassment in the “metaverse.” This includes various virtual reality social spaces where the user’s avatar interacts with others. She explores how easy it is for a male user to verbally abuse an A.I. “virtual girlfriend chatbot” or inflict physical violence on a “sex robot,” even in the semi-public physical space of a “cyber brothel.” The new technology tends to condition boys and men to accept harassment, violence, and dehumanization towards women as normal. It tends to drive women out of both physical and virtual public spaces.

Bates says she “could write a whole book on the potential solutions” but the underlying problem of misogyny has to be solved. This requires, she writes, a network of legal, educational, and technological solutions. There needs to be public awareness of the new methods of sexual abuse and coercive control and the extreme damage to victims’ lives. More women and minorities must be included in the development and implementation of new technology. Bates describes how they have already produced creative approaches to problem-solving applications. Billionaire capitalists responsible for creating this technology express attitudes of “move fast and break things.” Instead of giving them massive profits, companies can easily afford to spend money on building more slowly and carefully a technology that enhances everyone’s lives.