The New Age of Sexism: How AI and Emerging Technologies Are Reinventing Misogyny

Laura Bates examines how algorithmic bias and generative artificial intelligence automate historical gender prejudices. She traces the evolution of digital misogyny from early online forums to sophisticated deepfake pornography, automated hiring filters, and predictive policing tools that disproportionately target women. The text identifies specific technical structures, such as reinforcement learning from human feedback and biased training datasets, that entrench sexist stereotypes under the guise of objective data. Bates details the financial incentives driving tech conglomerates to prioritize engagement metrics over user safety, effectively scaling harassment through automated bot networks and algorithmic amplification of extremist rhetoric.

This book provides researchers and policy advocates with a technical framework for understanding how software design perpetuates social inequality. Readers who study digital culture learn to identify the invisible mechanisms that influence social media feeds and influence public perception. The material offers practical insights for developers and regulators seeking to build ethical safety protocols into emerging platforms. By the end, the reader gains a clear vocabulary for discussing systemic discrimination in the digital age and an understanding of how to demand accountability from multinational technology corporations.