Women, girls facing new harm from technology

This year has been filled with unsettling reports of how generative AI is being used in ways we couldn’t have imagined just a few years ago. From a fake political ad crafted entirely by AI to a false image of an explosion at the Pentagon that spread disinformation, and even a dating app that uses AI to start conversations without disclosing to women that they’re speaking to bots, these examples paint a clear picture of the potential for harm.

What’s even more alarming is how these new AI tools are being weaponized to fuel gender-based violence online, a form of abuse known as technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV). The rise of generative AI—capable of producing highly realistic text, images, and video with simple prompts—has not only escalated existing methods of abuse but also created new avenues for harm.

A report by UNESCO highlighted just how widespread these dangers are. It detailed how generative AI is making it easier to create believable fake media, generate biased content, and automate harassment campaigns. These tools can also be used to develop what the report calls “synthetic histories,” where false narratives are generated to defame and harm individuals. The most vulnerable targets? Women and girls.

The internet has long been a hostile environment for women. According to a global study, a staggering 58 percent of young women and girls have experienced online harassment on social media. Even in areas with low internet access, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, women face disproportionate levels of abuse. In 2020, only 19 percent of women in the region used the internet, but those who did were at heightened risk of facing technology-facilitated violence.

What makes generative AI particularly dangerous in this context is its capacity to automate attacks. Chatbots can be manipulated to bypass safeguards, spitting out harmful information with ease. AI tools are used to create phishing templates, generate derogatory comments, and craft highly realistic fake images of women in compromising situations—images they never consented to be in. The technology is also being used to harass women by flooding them with lifelike messages from fake accounts, amplifying the feeling of being constantly targeted and watched.

One of the most insidious uses of generative AI is the creation of “synthetic histories,” where attackers use AI to generate convincing but false reports about their targets. These fake stories can damage reputations, raise doubts about someone’s integrity, and ultimately cause harm to their personal and professional lives. This tactic, which has become one of the most effective ways to inflict TFGBV, is particularly harmful in its ability to make the fake seem real.

The UNESCO report also pointed out that this form of abuse isn’t just about being online. It mirrors the same dynamics of real-world violence, where women are targeted simply for being women, with the most vulnerable groups facing the brunt of the attacks. Women in prominent roles, such as journalists, tend to experience even more severe abuse. A survey of nearly 1,000 journalists revealed that 73 percent had faced some form of online violence.

This is not a new problem. Campaigns of online abuse against women have been on the rise for over a decade. In the 2010s, Black feminists sounded the alarm when the fake #EndFathersDay movement trended on social media. It turned out to be a coordinated attack by fake accounts aimed at discrediting Black feminism. This was just one of many examples, alongside more notorious incidents like Gamergate, a sustained online harassment campaign targeting women in the video game industry.

The rise of generative AI has only made these attacks more sophisticated and harder to combat. Tools like ChatGPT, MidJourney, and DALL-E—AI models capable of creating text, images, and even videos—are easily accessible, giving attackers the power to spread disinformation and harassment on a massive scale.

UNESCO emphasizes that combating TFGBV in the age of generative AI will require a united effort. AI developers, tech companies, policymakers, and civil society organizations all have a role to play in creating safeguards and raising awareness about these issues. Education on media literacy, especially for women, is critical in helping individuals navigate the risks that come with generative AI.

Just as UNESCO has worked on solutions for hate speech and misinformation, the organization hopes that this new report will guide stakeholders in addressing the unique challenges posed by AI-driven gender-based violence. There’s no question that AI has the potential to transform our world, but without careful management, it could also deepen the divides and amplify the harms that already exist—especially for women.