Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming how people communicate, access services, work, and interact online. However, the expansion of AI technologies is also creating new and intensifying forms of harm, particularly for women, girls, and gender-diverse people across the Global South.
To address these challenges, the African Hub on AI Safety, Peace and Security, in partnership with Digital Futures Lab and the GxD hub, an initiative by LEAD at Krea University, is launching a series of Learning Circles on Gendered AI Harms in the Global South.
The Learning Circles form part of a nine-month, multi-country initiative under the Global South Network for Trustworthy AI. The initiative aims to create a stronger understanding of gendered AI harms and ensure that the experiences of affected communities are reflected in emerging conversations around AI safety and governance.
Expression of Interest Deadline: 10 August 2026
AI systems are increasingly embedded in everyday life, influencing communication, access to information and services, employment, digital platforms, and online safety.
While AI can provide significant opportunities, its deployment can also expose people to serious risks. These risks are not experienced equally across different communities. Women, girls, and gender-diverse people can face particular forms of technology-enabled harm that are often overlooked in mainstream discussions about artificial intelligence.
The Learning Circles seek to address this gap by bringing together participants to explore the gendered dimensions of AI-related harms from perspectives grounded in the realities of the Global South.
The initiative will encourage knowledge-sharing, dialogue, and collective learning among people working on issues connected to technology, gender, digital rights, AI governance, safety, and social justice.
Gendered AI Harms in the Global South
The organisers highlight a range of emerging and existing harms associated with artificial intelligence and digital technologies.
These include:
- AI-generated digital forgeries
- Image-based abuse
- Algorithmic harassment
- Algorithmic discrimination and bias
- Biometric surveillance
- Platform-mediated coercion
- Technology-facilitated gender-based harms
- Other forms of AI-enabled digital abuse
These harms can have consequences extending beyond individual experiences. They can affect people’s livelihoods, safety, participation in society, and economic opportunities.
The initiative recognises that the effects of AI-related harms can also create broader social and economic costs, particularly when affected communities lack effective mechanisms for reporting incidents, seeking accountability, or influencing technology governance.
Addressing Gaps in AI Safety Discussions
According to the organisers, many mainstream AI safety discussions continue to focus heavily on technical risks, national security, and technological governance.
While these areas remain important, there is a need for greater attention to the everyday experiences of communities affected by AI systems.
The Learning Circles therefore aim to bring feminist, labour, community, and Global South perspectives into conversations about AI safety and responsible technology.
The initiative seeks to ensure that discussions about AI governance are informed not only by technical experts and policymakers but also by people with direct knowledge of how AI-related harms affect communities.
What the Initiative Will Develop
The nine-month, multi-country initiative will work towards developing several resources and shared approaches for understanding gendered AI harms.
These include a:
- Shared vocabulary for discussing gendered AI harms
- Contextualised register of gendered AI harms
- Foundational incident reporting framework
- Body of knowledge grounded in lived experiences
- Cross-country learning and knowledge-sharing network
By documenting and examining these experiences, the initiative aims to contribute to more inclusive approaches to AI safety and governance.
Why the Learning Circles Matter
As AI technologies become more widespread, understanding their social consequences is increasingly important.
For communities in the Global South, technology governance must take into account local contexts, socioeconomic realities, gender inequalities, digital access, and existing vulnerabilities.
A framework developed without these perspectives risks overlooking harms that may be particularly significant in certain communities.
The Learning Circles provide an opportunity to collectively examine these issues and contribute to a more context-sensitive understanding of AI-related risks.
The initiative also has potential relevance for researchers, civil society organisations, digital rights advocates, gender justice practitioners, technology policy professionals, and others working to make digital systems safer and more equitable.
Who May Be Interested?
The call may be particularly relevant to people working or researching in areas such as:
- Artificial intelligence and AI governance
- Digital rights
- Gender justice
- Technology-facilitated violence
- Feminist technology
- Online safety
- Algorithmic accountability
- Data protection and privacy
- Digital inclusion
- Human rights
- Technology policy
- AI safety
- Cybersecurity and digital security
- Labour and technology
- Community-based technology research
Participants with experience documenting technology-related harms or working directly with affected communities may bring valuable perspectives to the Learning Circles.
Global South Perspectives at the Centre
A key feature of the initiative is its emphasis on experiences from the Global South.
Rather than treating AI harms as universal phenomena that can be understood through a single framework, the programme seeks to explore how these harms manifest in different social, economic, cultural, and political contexts.
This approach can help identify patterns across countries while also recognising differences in how communities experience and respond to technology-related risks.
The resulting knowledge could contribute to future research, advocacy, policy development, and approaches to AI governance that better reflect the realities of communities across the Global South.
How to Register Your Interest
Individuals interested in participating in the Learning Circles on Gendered AI Harms in the Global South are invited to complete the expression-of-interest form provided by the organisers.
Interested applicants should submit the form by:
10 August 2026
The Learning Circles are part of a broader nine-month, multi-country initiative focused on developing shared knowledge and practical frameworks for understanding and documenting gendered AI harms.
Those interested should complete the registration form before the deadline to express their interest in participating.
Key Details
Opportunity: Learning Circles on Gendered AI Harms in the Global South
Organisers: African Hub on AI Safety, Peace and Security, Digital Futures Lab, and GxD hub
Network: Global South Network for Trustworthy AI
Duration: Nine months
Focus: Gendered AI harms, AI safety, digital rights, gender justice and lived experiences
Geographic Focus: Global South
Application Type: Expression of Interest
Deadline: 10 August 2026
APPLY HERE
