Big Tech’s fail — unsafe online spaces for women

U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris’s endorsement as the Democratic Party’s nominee for the 2024 U.S. Presidential elections sparked significant political debate and online harassment. Her campaign was marred by AI-generated deepfakes and disinformation, which targeted her personal and professional life, spreading sexist, racist, and objectifying content. This issue highlights the growing concern over the role of technology in perpetuating gender-based online abuse, especially for women in power.

Digital Abuse and Disinformation

• Trolling and Deepfakes: Kamala Harris, like other women in politics, faced online harassment in the form of AI-generated deepfakes, racist, and sexist content. A manipulated video with her cloned voice circulated, making false claims about her character, reinforcing negative stereotypes and objectifying her.
• Targeting Women in Power: Women politicians, such as Nikki Haley, Giorgia Meloni, and others globally, are increasingly targeted by digitally manipulated content. AI-driven attacks, including explicit deepfakes, continue to gain widespread engagement on social media, impacting the public perception of these women and their dignity.
• Disproportionate Abuse of Women: The abuse faced by women online differs from that directed at men, as women encounter sexualized content, body-shaming, and derogatory stereotypes. While men face misinformation regarding political actions, women are more likely to be objectified or depicted in degrading ways, affecting their mental well-being.

Big Tech’s Responsibility and Failure

• Lack of Accountability: Tech giants like Meta, Google, and Twitter often avoid responsibility for spreading harmful content. They rely on ‘safe harbour’ protections, which prevent them from being held accountable for user-generated material, despite their ability to moderate and remove harmful content.
• Ineffective Content Moderation: Platforms fail to quickly address harmful content, with reporting mechanisms often too slow. This delay in content moderation allows abusive material, such as sexually explicit deepfakes, to proliferate, which exacerbates harm to women.
• Need for Legal and Technical Reforms: Policymakers and tech companies need to take swift action, including imposing hefty fines on platforms and reviewing harmful apps. The involvement of women in technology development and regulatory decision-making is essential to reduce gender bias in AI and digital platforms.

Gender Bias in AI and Technology

• AI’s Amplification of Bias: AI systems often perpetuate societal biases, especially when shaped by data sets with gender stereotypes. Women, particularly those in positions of power, are disproportionately affected by AI-driven harassment, amplifying existing prejudices rather than challenging them.
• Lack of Female Representation in Tech: There is a significant gender gap in the tech industry, with women underrepresented in AI development. The lack of diverse perspectives in tech companies leads to the creation of biased systems that fail to adequately protect women from online harassment and abuse.
• Policy and Governance for Safe Digital Spaces: To combat these issues, stronger governance frameworks are needed. Governments should enforce regulations that hold tech companies accountable for harmful content, and tech firms must invest in better moderation tools and safety measures to ensure online spaces are free from gender bias and harassment.

Practice Question:

Q. Discuss the growing concerns regarding online harassment of women in politics, especially with the rise of AI-generated content. Evaluate the role of Big Tech companies and the need for regulatory reforms to address this issue.