“Challenges for Gender Equality in the Face of Advances in Artificial Intelligence”, Conference in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife

On October 16, 2026, Opciónate participated in the conference “Challenges for Gender Equality in the Face of Advances in Artificial Intelligence”, held in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife. The event brought together experts from a range of fields to examine the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) from a feminist perspective, addressing its risks, social and legal implications, and the challenges it poses to gender equality and human rights.

At the current moment, in which AI technologies are advancing rapidly and transforming the way we communicate, interact, and access information, it is essential to examine their consequences. From a gender-sensitive lens, the analysis reveals that these tools are not neutral. They can reproduce and amplify the stereotypes, inequalities, and misogyny present in society, enabling new forms of violence against women and girls. For this reason, it is crucial to foster critical perspectives that place human rights, equality, and people’s safety at the center of technological development.

A Feminist Perspective on the Challenges of Artificial Intelligence

The conference opened with institutional remarks by David Hernández Díaz, Councilor for Equality at the Puerto de la Cruz City Council. It also featured presentations by experts who explored artificial intelligence from legal, social, ethical, and communications perspectives.

Remedios García Cornejo, PhD in Legal and Social Sciences from the University of Málaga, opened the program with her presentation, “Artificial Intelligence and Gender-Based Cyberviolence,” focusing on the relationship between the development of these technologies and gender-based violence in digital environments.

Next, Ana Montesinos García, Professor of Procedural Law at the University of Valencia, presented “Artificial Intelligence and Gender-Sensitive Justice: The Threat of Deepfakes.” Her presentation examined the challenges that AI-generated and manipulated images and content pose to the justice system and the protection of women’s rights.

Lucía Ortiz de Zárate, PhD in Philosophy, delivered “Feminist AI: The Ethics and Ecosocial Politics of Artificial Intelligence,” offering insights into the ethical, political, and social dimensions of technological development.

In the afternoon, Elisa García Mingo, a researcher in the Department of Sociology at the Complutense University of Madrid, explored the relationship between digital cyberculture, artificial intelligence, and social movements. Later, Francisco José García Ull, PhD in Communication, addressed gender stereotypes in AI-generated images, focusing on how synthetic content can reproduce existing social narratives and inequalities.

Opciónate at the Expert Round Table: Digital Violence, Prevention, and Collective Responsibility

Opciónate’s director, Ana Lydia Fernández-Layos, took part in the roundtable “Digital Violence in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Challenges, Risks, and Responses,” alongside Ana Montesinos García and Estíbaliz Linares Bahillo, PhD in Human Rights from the University of Deusto.

During the discussion, Ana Lydia highlighted the risks posed by artificial intelligence, particularly for children and adolescents, and the need to develop preventive, educational, legislative, and institutional responses capable of addressing emerging forms of digital violence before they escalate.

One of the key points of her contribution was that artificial intelligence reflects the values of the society in which it is developed and, at the same time, can reinforce its own prejudices and inequalities. When built upon patriarchal structures, AI can reproduce and amplify misogyny, enabling forms of abuse such as the creation and distribution of fake intimate images, manipulated sexual content, and other forms of violence that disproportionately affect women and minors.

In response to these challenges, she emphasized the importance of strengthening digital education from an early age, incorporating gender equality, comprehensive sexuality education, human rights, and empathy. She also underscored the need to guide young people and adolescents toward responsible use of these tools, with the involvement of families, schools, public institutions, and society as a whole.

Opciónate’s director also highlighted outstanding legislative challenges and the need to make the protection of women and minors an effective public policy priority, regardless of political changes. In this regard, she stressed the importance of advancing the legal frameworks needed to address AI-enabled violence and ensure effective mechanisms for prevention, protection, and redress.

Another key issue was the responsibility of technology platforms. Companies that design, develop, and manage apps and social media platforms must play an active role in both preventing violence and responding when it occurs. This means improving reporting mechanisms, removing and blocking violent or manipulated content, preventing its repeated circulation, taking action against abusive accounts, and providing meaningful support to victims.

Opciónate also emphasized that the response cannot stop at removing content. It is necessary to acknowledge the harm caused, facilitate redress, and create a supportive social environment for victims. In the face of the blame and stigma that often fall on those who experience these attacks, Ana Lydia stressed the importance of shifting the shame away from victims and placing it where it belongs: on those who perpetrate violence and those who allow it to continue.

Working Together to Address Digital Violence

We are grateful for the invitation and the opportunity to share this space with professionals from different fields who are working to examine the challenges of artificial intelligence and develop collective responses.

Events like this are essential to raising public awareness, challenging narratives that normalize or discursively minimize gender-based violence, and generating knowledge that can be translated into concrete action. In the face of economic interests and power structures that may place the profits and expansion of technology platforms above human rights, we need a feminist perspective that puts life, dignity, equality, and justice at the center.

Preventing gender-based cyberviolence requires collaboration, coordination across institutions, and collective commitment. Educators, lawmakers, technology platforms, support services, and civil society must work together to prevent abuse, protect those affected, and ensure that technological advances do not become new tools for inequality.

At Opciónate, we will continue working to promote critical digital citizenship, prevent gender-based violence, and defend the rights of women and girls in digital spaces. Technology must serve people and contribute to building a fairer, more equal society free from violence.