The new frontline for women and truth in the age of AI
Source: BBC
Women who enter public life, including journalists, activists and those in politics, have always understood that visibility comes at a cost.
But in the digital age, first shaped by social media and now increasingly driven by artificial intelligence, that cost has deepened, changed form, and become systemic and often relentless.
Harassment now travels in coordinated waves, often beyond control, moving faster than truth and leaving behind consequences that do not easily fade. And the danger is not limited to these attacks – it is also found in the silence they are designed to produce from their targets. Artificial intelligence is now making easier to manufacture, scale, and sustain that silence.
Examining the impact of emerging technologies
The urgency of these shifts was at the centre of discussions during a side event at the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), Women Holding the Line: Storytelling & Safety in an Age of AI, convened in partnership with BBC Media Action and Peace Pays. Around 60 leaders from across the globe, journalists, activists, technologists, policymakers, and funders, gathered to examine how emerging technologies are reshaping both risk and resilience for women in public life.
In a panel discussion led by BBC reporter Samira Hussain, Fatou Baldeh, an FGM activist from Gambia; Kat Fotovat, a former ambassador and Co-Founder at Peace Pays.ai; Arbana Xharra, a Kosovar Albanian investigative journalist; and Varinder Kaur Gambhir, Country Director at BBC Media Action, India emphasized how the threats facing women in public spheres are no longer isolated or temporary. They are embedded within rapidly evolving technological systems which increase surveillance, track and invade privacy, and may also put family members and sources at risk.
Women who enter public life, including journalists, activists and those in politics, have always understood that visibility comes at a cost.
But in the digital age, first shaped by social media and now increasingly driven by artificial intelligence, that cost has deepened, changed form, and become systemic and often relentless.
Harassment now travels in coordinated waves, often beyond control, moving faster than truth and leaving behind consequences that do not easily fade. And the danger is not limited to these attacks – it is also found in the silence they are designed to produce from their targets. Artificial intelligence is now making easier to manufacture, scale, and sustain that silence.
Examining the impact of emerging technologies
The urgency of these shifts was at the centre of discussions during a side event at the UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), Women Holding the Line: Storytelling & Safety in an Age of AI, convened in partnership with BBC Media Action and Peace Pays. Around 60 leaders from across the globe, journalists, activists, technologists, policymakers, and funders, gathered to examine how emerging technologies are reshaping both risk and resilience for women in public life.
In a panel discussion led by BBC reporter Samira Hussain, Fatou Baldeh, an FGM activist from Gambia; Kat Fotovat, a former ambassador and Co-Founder at Peace Pays.ai; Arbana Xharra, a Kosovar Albanian investigative journalist; and Varinder Kaur Gambhir, Country Director at BBC Media Action, India emphasized how the threats facing women in public spheres are no longer isolated or temporary. They are embedded within rapidly evolving technological systems which increase surveillance, track and invade privacy, and may also put family members and sources at risk.