Today, March 8, on International Women's Day, it's time to talk about an urgent and often unexamined issue: the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on gender equity.

• Did you know that AI algorithms can discriminate against women in hiring processes?
• Or that 98% of deepfakes created with AI are pornographic and 99% of the victims are women?

AI is not neutral. It learns from the world we live in, and if that world is unequal, the algorithms will continue to reproduce that inequality.

But the key question is: can we make AI work in favor of gender equity instead of perpetuating inequalities? In this article, we explore how AI can be a problem, but also an opportunity to close the gender gap.

AI and Gender Biases: A Silent Problem

AI learns from historical data, and that data is laden with inequalities. If not designed carefully, algorithms can reinforce stereotypes and discrimination instead of eliminating them.

Example 1: Hiring algorithms that automatically dismiss women.

• In 2018, a large tech company had to deactivate its AI-based recruitment system because it favored men for technical positions.
• The AI analyzed historical data and noted that most hires in the sector had been men. Instead of correcting the inequality, it replicated and amplified it.

Example 2: Virtual assistants with female voices and helpful tone.

• Alexa, Siri, Cortana… almost all voice assistants are named and have a tone that is female.
• A UNESCO study revealed that this reinforces gender stereotypes, assigning the AI roles of helper rather than leader or expert.

And lastly example 3: Biased medical diagnoses.

• The AI used in healthcare is often trained with male data, causing certain diseases in women to be diagnosed later or incorrectly.

If AI continues to learn from an unequal world, it will continue to make unequal decisions.

Digital Violence and Deepfakes: AI as a Tool for Attack.

One of the most alarming uses of AI has been its application in digital violence against women.

Shocking fact:

• 98% of Deepfakes created with AI are pornographic and 99% of the victims are women.
• Women in politics, activism, and journalism have been attacked with false images generated by AI to discredit and silence them.

The problem:

• Deepfake technology is becoming increasingly accessible, facilitating image manipulation and the creation of harmful content.
• Social media algorithms often amplify this content instead of curbing it, increasing its reach and harm.

We are letting AI be used as a weapon against women, and we need to do something about it.

AI as a Tool for Gender Equality: How to Make it Our Ally?

AI is not inherently bad, but it depends on how we program and use it. Some ways it can help reduce inequalities include:

• AI against online harassment: Algorithms can detect and automatically eliminate misogynistic comments, protecting users on digital platforms.
• Closing the wage gap: AI can analyze salary data in companies and identify pay differences between men and women, helping to implement equity policies.
• More equitable selection processes: If trained with fair data, algorithms can avoid biases and provide equal opportunities to women and men in the job market.

AI is just a reflection of the society that trains it. If we want it to be an ally for equity, we need it to be created with a gender perspective.

Conclusion: AI is power… how do we use it?

• AI can amplify inequalities or be a tool for justice.
• We can use it to eliminate biases, close gaps, and protect women in digital environments, but that depends on the decisions we make today.

So, the big question is:

What are we doing to ensure that AI works in favor of equality and not against it?

How can we regulate and develop technology that brings us closer to a more equitable world?

Leave us your opinion: today, on 8M, let's talk about this.