Artificial Intelligence, new technologies and their impact on gender equality

Hon. Dr Zainab Gimba, MP is the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP). She was elected in 2019 to the Nigeria House of Representatives.

In the age of rapid technological advancement, the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI), disinformation and parliamentary systems has become a critical focal point. As our world becomes increasingly digital, the need to safeguard the integrity of our democratic processes from the harmful effects of misinformation and AI-driven manipulation has never been more urgent. Artificial intelligence has ushered in a new era of innovation and efficiency, revolutionising various sectors. However, the same technologies that enhance our lives also present challenges when misused. In the context of gender equality, AI-powered tools can be exploited to manipulate public opinion, spread disinformation and re-enforce gender stereotypes.

Research has shown that ‘gendered’ divisions are often reproduced through technology. Gender stereotypes show us that technology regularly gets equated with ‘men’s power’, while women and girls are portrayed as ‘less technologically skilled and less interested than their male counterparts’. Such stereotypes can contribute to the gender gap in women’s participation in related fields.

The gendering of AI can happen in many ways – often through the voice, appearance or the use of female names when creating AI profiles or new technologies. A good example is the use of ‘default’ female voices and names for virtual assistants for the home or mobile technology – such as Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana – although some technology companies have reversed this trend and now offer neutral profiles. The tendency to feminise AI tools often mimics and reinforces the structural hierarchies and stereotypes in society, which can be premised on preassigned gender roles.

AI language models create content from digital information that has already been published which often leads to existing gender biases and stereotypes being replicated and amplified. UN Women’s Executive Director, Sima Bahous recently cited a survey showing that 58% of young men aged 16 to 19 believe that men are better political leaders than women, saying “it should particularly alarm us that the attitudes of young men seem to be going backwards.” With such views so widespread, it should come as no surprise that AI, in an attempt to mimic human expression, would reproduce stereotypes.

In 2022, UNESCO published a report on the ‘Effects of AI on the Working Lives of Women’, which demonstrated that AI and technology is changing the landscape for women in the workplace. The report highlights the need for more focus and research on the impacts of AI and technology on women and the digital gender gap, in order to ensure that women are not left behind in the future of work.

UNESCO has highlighted that AI also risks having a negative impact on women’s economic empowerment and their labour market opportunities through the increased use of job automation. Recent research found that women are at a significantly higher risk of displacement due to job automation than men are. The majority of workers facing high-risk of automation in areas such as clerical and administrative roles are women and so it is essential that retraining and reskilling opportunities are provided to lessen the impact of automation on women’s economic empowerment.

The adoption of AI and new technologies are currently occurring at an unprecedented pace and there is an absence of regulatory frameworks to ensure that gender equality is a key consideration in their development. UNESCO’s Global Dialogue on Gender Equality and AI observed that AI guidelines that address gender equality were “either inexistent or current practices were insufficient.” The UN and its agencies have taken a lead on developing frameworks for ethical AI use, however the extent to which they have become embedded and utilised is yet to be studied.

In recent years, the transmission of disinformation through the use of AI and new technologies has also increased dramatically across the world with a detrimental impact on women. While providing for a plurality of voices, false, inaccurate or misleading information is often designed, presented and promoted intentionally to cause public or personal harm or to make a profit.

It is often said that lies disseminate ‘farther, faster, deeper, and more broadly than the truth’ and falsehoods are ‘70% more likely to be retweeted than the truth’. False content has a potentially damaging impact on the credibility of both democratic processes as well as the individuals involved. We know for example that women Parliamentarians are disproportionately impacted by online misinformation – often linked to social media abuse and online targeting.

The Internet has provided unprecedented amounts of information to huge numbers of people worldwide. Accelerated by the ubiquity of smartphones and social media networks, the Internet has also become a more complex phenomenon based on emerging techniques of deception, with its far-reaching implications for democratic norms worldwide.

Social media platforms, often used as a means of communication between constituents and their representatives, can become breeding grounds for misleading narratives. Deepfake technology, driven by AI, further complicates the landscape by creating realistic but entirely fabricated content, making it difficult to distinguish truth from fiction. The same features that empower citizens can be misused as vehicles for the spread of online hate speech, disinformation, bias, harassment and cyberbullying.

In providing more direct access to content, less mediated by professional journalism, digital platforms have replaced editorial decisions with engagement-optimising algorithms that prioritise ‘clickbait’ content. Social networks have transformed our personal exposure to information, persuasion and emotive imagery of all kinds.

However, there are some promising practices on how AI and technology can be used to address gender inequalities and advance gender equality in our societies. For example, several employers have shared their experiences of using AI to create job adverts using gender-sensitive language to ensure that they are more inclusive and attract a more diverse workforce. Many organisations now use ‘discrimination testing’ to review their algorithms to eliminate any form of discrimination. Ethical AI can provide a new approach to addressing diversity and equality, including gender equality. Many key stakeholders such as technology companies, academia, UN agencies and civil society organisations are now working together to explore solutions and policies.

Parliaments and legislative bodies are not immune to the impact of AI-driven disinformation and new technologies. The dissemination of false information can erode public trust in institutions and lead to uninformed decision-making. As representatives who engage with constituents through digital platforms, the risk of manipulation increases, undermining the very essence of democratic governance.

Effective responses to the issues posed by AI and new technologies requires a multi-faceted approach that will safeguard the integrity of our digital democracy. This can include formal laws and regulations, as well as corporate measures. Promoting media literacy and critical thinking skills can empower citizens to discern reliable information from misinformation, particularly for young people. Educational initiatives should highlight the potential dangers of AI-driven disinformation and provide tools to verify the authenticity of digital content.

As a result, Parliaments face the challenge of crafting legislation that balances freedom of expression with the need to curb harmful online activities. For instance, legislation targeting harmful speech must be finely tuned to avoid inadvertently creating ‘chilling effects’6 and suppressing the rights of the individual to freedom of speech. Parliaments must be thoughtful in calibrating responses that address urgent threats while not encroaching on essential democratic values.

Parliamentarians have a role to play in international dialogues on AI so that regulatory frameworks and governance models are developed with democratic and inclusive principles and reflect the needs of diverse communities across the Commonwealth. Legislatures can also prioritise raising public awareness about the implications of disinformation. This involves supporting initiatives that educate citizens on identifying and understanding the nature of synthetic content and ‘fake news’. By enhancing media literacy, legislators can empower the public to critically assess and respond to disinformation. Legislatures can also champion efforts to collaborate with counterparts across borders, sharing best practice and working towards unified standards. This approach acknowledges the transnational challenge of AI, technology and digital disinformation, and the need for a harmonised response.

The CPA has recently launched its ‘ Parliamentary Handbook on Disinformation, AI and Synthetic Media’ – visit www.cpahq.org or email hq.sec@cpahq.org for a copy.

References:

‘Addressing Gender Bias to Achieve Ethical AI’ by Ardra Manasi, Subadra Panchanadeswaran, and Emily Sours, 17 March 2023 – IPI Global Observatory

‘HeForShe summit discusses gender bias in AI and how to encourage male feminist allies’ UN Women, September 2023

‘The Effects of AI on the Working Lives of Women’, UNESCO, 2022

‘Artificial Intelligence and Gender Equality’, UNESCO, 2020

‘Chilling effects arise out of contexts of ambiguity and uncertainty—like the ambiguity of public or private sector surveillance—but have deeper psychological foundations as well. In moments of situational uncertainty, people conform to, and comply with, the relevant social norm in that context’. Cited from Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.