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AI is Becoming a New Weapon Against Women, and the World is Still Not Ready
Deepfakes are not entertainment; they are psychological warfare targeting women
UN Women, the agency for women’s rights, gender equality, and women’s empowerment, sounded a global alarm on AI becoming a weapon against women as it began its 16 Days of Activism campaign against gender violence.
The agency issued this warning that feels less like advocacy and more like a strong alarm about a quiet war unfolding online, and women are the primary targets.
The internet, which was once praised as a space of limitless opportunity, has become something far more perilous for women worldwide. While the platform can be a source of empowerment, it is more and more being weaponized, rapidly evolving into a means to harass women, damage their reputation, prevent them from speaking, and ultimately remove them from public view and influence.
Today, fewer than 40 percent of countries have no laws addressing cyber harassment or cyberstalking. That means 1.8 billion women and girls remain unprotected, even as perpetrators become faster, more coordinated, and harder to trace, according to UN Women.
“What begins online doesn’t stay online,” warns Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive…
