Concept Note
Digital Authoritarianism and the Gender Gap
Background
As digital transformation reshapes society as a whole, a new form of authoritarianism based on algorithms and data is emerging. This digital authoritarianism functions as a mechanism that subtly but profoundly reinforces and reproduces existing social inequalities, particularly the gender gap. Instances such as the exclusion of women in AI recruitment systems, the spread of misogyny through social media, the evolution of digital sex crimes, and gendered exploitation in platform labor clearly demonstrate that technological advancement is by no means value-neutral. These issues pose serious threats to women’s entry into the labor market and to safety in everyday life, emerging as new social risks. In connection with the overarching theme of the World Human Rights Cities Forum 2026, Human Rights Cities Against Authoritarianism and Populism, this session aims to bring to light gender inequality issues obscured by the shadow of technological advancement, and to explore the role and vision of Gwangju as a human rights city in establishing new standards for women’s human rights in the digital era and building an inclusive digital ecosystem.
Objectives
1. Assessing the Current Situation: Conducting an in-depth analysis of the mechanisms through which digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, algorithms, and platforms exacerbate gender gaps across multiple dimensions, including women’s labor, social participation, and safety.
2. Expanding Public Discussion: Framing technological bias and gendered digital risks as key social issues and building a broad social consensus.
3. Exploring Alternatives: Identifying concrete policy tasks and local-level practices for a gender-equal digital transformation that goes beyond discrimination and exclusion toward inclusion by integrating a gender perspective throughout the entire process of technology development and use.
Main Agenda
1. Algorithmic Inequality: Discussing gender bias embedded in automated decision-making systems and the resulting deprivation of opportunities for women.
2. Crisis of Digital Public Spaces: Examining how organized misogyny, disinformation, and cyberbullying, spreading through social media and online communities, are constraining women’s political and social participation.
3. Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence: Discussing the evolution of digital sex crimes utilizing technologies such as deepfakes and AI chatbots, including cases like the Iruda case, an AI chatbot in South Korea that generated discriminatory and gender-biased responses and was trained on personal data without proper consent, as well as legal and institutional challenges in protecting victims and holding perpetrators accountable.
4. Limitations of Policy Responses: Critically reviewing the absence of a gender perspective in government AI ethics and action plans, and discussing alternatives such as the development of gender-sensitive data and the introduction of gender impact assessments.
Concept Note
Digital Authoritarianism and the Gender Gap
Background
As digital transformation reshapes society as a whole, a new form of authoritarianism based on algorithms and data is emerging. This digital authoritarianism functions as a mechanism that subtly but profoundly reinforces and reproduces existing social inequalities, particularly the gender gap. Instances such as the exclusion of women in AI recruitment systems, the spread of misogyny through social media, the evolution of digital sex crimes, and gendered exploitation in platform labor clearly demonstrate that technological advancement is by no means value-neutral. These issues pose serious threats to women’s entry into the labor market and to safety in everyday life, emerging as new social risks. In connection with the overarching theme of the World Human Rights Cities Forum 2026, Human Rights Cities Against Authoritarianism and Populism, this session aims to bring to light gender inequality issues obscured by the shadow of technological advancement, and to explore the role and vision of Gwangju as a human rights city in establishing new standards for women’s human rights in the digital era and building an inclusive digital ecosystem.
Objectives
1. Assessing the Current Situation: Conducting an in-depth analysis of the mechanisms through which digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, algorithms, and platforms exacerbate gender gaps across multiple dimensions, including women’s labor, social participation, and safety.
2. Expanding Public Discussion: Framing technological bias and gendered digital risks as key social issues and building a broad social consensus.
3. Exploring Alternatives: Identifying concrete policy tasks and local-level practices for a gender-equal digital transformation that goes beyond discrimination and exclusion toward inclusion by integrating a gender perspective throughout the entire process of technology development and use.
Main Agenda
1. Algorithmic Inequality: Discussing gender bias embedded in automated decision-making systems and the resulting deprivation of opportunities for women.
2. Crisis of Digital Public Spaces: Examining how organized misogyny, disinformation, and cyberbullying, spreading through social media and online communities, are constraining women’s political and social participation.
3. Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence: Discussing the evolution of digital sex crimes utilizing technologies such as deepfakes and AI chatbots, including cases like the Iruda case, an AI chatbot in South Korea that generated discriminatory and gender-biased responses and was trained on personal data without proper consent, as well as legal and institutional challenges in protecting victims and holding perpetrators accountable.
4. Limitations of Policy Responses: Critically reviewing the absence of a gender perspective in government AI ethics and action plans, and discussing alternatives such as the development of gender-sensitive data and the introduction of gender impact assessments.