How tech turned against women

[Nevilledog]

https://www.ft.com/content/60e2a900-8999-46cc-8107-4f468f442aae

No paywall link
https://archive.li/2026.02.23-095730/https://www.ft.com/content/60e2a900-8999-46cc-8107-4f468f442aae

In late December, over the course of just nine days, xAI’s Grok tool was used to generate and post online millions of non-consensual intimate images of women. Requests to alter women’s images to add bruises, blood and even bullet holes were instantly granted.

Racism was deeply intertwined with the misogyny: Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Zendaya, Cardi B and other prominent politicians and celebrities were targeted with requests to portray them with white skin. A Jewish woman found that an AI image had been created showing her in a bikini standing outside Auschwitz. Millions of the images featured child sexual abuse.

Just a few weeks later, Waymo announced that it plans to debut its driverless cars in London by the end of 2026. These vehicles have been in development for years but will still have to prove that they meet strict safety standards, including protection from misuse via hacking or cyber threats, before being allowed on British roads. By contrast, AI tools that enable the harassment, humiliation, abuse and relentless hounding of women apparently require no such guardrails.

During the past two decades, the Big Tech lobby, well oiled by money and unprecedented proximity to those in positions of power, has done an overwhelmingly successful job of convincing us that regulation in their sector is a near-impossible task. Regulation, the argument goes, is the mortal enemy of innovation. It will strangle creativity, stall progress and may even obliterate the entire industry.

*snip*