Gender Equality: AI Is More Sexist Than Humans

Try participating in a job interview where the interviewer is an artificial intelligence. Sounds futuristic, right? Well, the future is already here, and it brings with it a problem that no one expected: AI discriminates. At the Polytechnic University of Milan they created an interactive installation that simulates this very situation. It's called "Not for Her" and the name says it all. During these virtual interviews, artificial intelligence shows all its prejudices against women. Against gender equality. And the most worrying thing is that these algorithms are already deciding who to hire in real companies.

When the machine learns our worst flaws

The truth about artificial intelligence is harsher than we imagine. Algorithms that should be neutral are instead amplifying gender discrimination in ways we never dreamed of. The UNESCO study “Bias Against Women and Girls in Large Language Models” revealed a shocking reality: large-scale linguistic patterns describe women as domestic workers four times more often than men.

Think about it: while women are associated with words like “home,” “family,” and “children,” men’s names are automatically associated with “business,” “manager,” “salary,” and “career.” But the problem goes beyond simple word associations. How do you explain Donatella Sciuto, rector of the Polytechnic University of Milan, artificial intelligence can be "a tool of discrimination or offer the possibility of responsible and ethical use".

The algorithm that judges you without knowing you

AI-powered recruiting systems are already operating in thousands of companies. According to research by the RES Group, if these systems use gender-biased training data, they automatically limit women's access to career opportunities, contributing to the perpetuation of wage gaps.

The mechanism is devilishly simple: AI learns from past data, where gender inequalities were even more pronounced. The result? The algorithms assume that this is “normal” and continue to discriminate, thinking they are doing the right thing. It is as if we have created machines programmed to ignore gender equality and maintain the status quo, even when that status quo is unjust.

Gender equality: the scary numbers

The situation is particularly dire in the technology sector itself. According to the European Institute for Gender Equality, women hold only 16% of AI jobs, and just 12% of professionals with more than 10 years of experience are female. Translated: the algorithms that decide our future are designed mostly by men.

This gap is also reflected in the daily use of technology. A research by the Oliver Wyman Forum on 25.000 workers showed that 59% of men use generative AI tools at least once a week, versus 51% of women. Among young people, the gap widens even further: 71% of men between 18 and 24 versus 59% of women.

The gender equality that never comes

The problem is not just technological, it is structural. As the World Economic Forum report highlights, no country in the world has achieved gender equality, and It will take another 152 years to close the economic gaps. Artificial intelligence, instead of accelerating this process, risks slowing it down further.

As we have already highlighted on these pages, the evolution of AI towards increasingly sophisticated forms amplifies the urgency of addressing these problems now, before they become irreversible.

The necessary awakening

The installation “Not for Her” is not just art: it is a wake-up call. Every time an algorithm makes a discriminatory decision, it is not simply replicating the past: it is building a future where women have fewer opportunities and gender equality is increasingly a utopia. The technology that was supposed to free us from human prejudice is becoming their most powerful megaphone.

The solution exists, but it requires will. We need diversity in development teams, more equitable training data, and most importantly, the awareness that every algorithm can be correct. Because if we don't act now, the AI ​​of the future won't be artificially intelligent: it will be artificially stupid. And that, frankly, we can't afford.