Editor’s Note
This article examines how AI systems can perpetuate societal biases, such as the stereotypical association of leadership roles with specific demographics. As AI becomes more embedded in creative and cultural fields, these issues demand critical attention and thoughtful solutions.
The rise of artificial intelligence highlights certain dysfunctions in our society, such as stereotypes still deeply rooted in the collective imagination. Ask an AI tool to generate an image with the term “CEO,” and it is highly likely the result will resemble a white man in his forties, even upon repeating the attempt. At a time when artificial intelligence is taking an increasingly significant role in the cultural and creative industries at all levels of the value chain, notably enabling the highly efficient generation of content (text, video, 3D image, music), it is necessary to move beyond these erroneous representations to prevent their perpetuation.
To achieve this, the full appropriation of tech tools by women, particularly artificial intelligence, and broadly, the full contribution of women to technological advancements, seems more necessary than ever. This was, among other things, a key takeaway from the conference “Her Tech Story: AI & gender bias in the film & TV industry,” led by the tech startup collective CONNECT, which took place during Cannes Next, a partner of the French Touch at the heart of the Marché du Film. What actions are the speakers taking in their sector, and how can entrepreneurship help reduce gender inequalities?
The innovation director of the TF1 subsidiary, a European audiovisual and film production and distribution group, spoke at length about her journey in the IT sector in the early 2000s.
For Marianne Carpentier, in the cultural and creative industries, the use of technology can direct how a story is told and perceived, but any story will not be oriented in the same way depending on who is leading that technology. And this is true even in films where it is not directly perceptible (she takes the example of the film *Emilia Perez* by Jacques Audiard, presented at the 2024 Cannes Festival), while according to her, “technology intervenes earlier and earlier in the creation of films and stories.” It is therefore essential, for her, that women use tech tools to also tell stories the way they perceive them and appropriate their own representations. But also, that everyone becomes aware of their own biases to identify and combat them as best as possible.
The laureate of the 2023 Forbes 40 Women ranking grew up in Johannesburg. Of Brazilian and Chinese origin, she experienced discrimination in a country still grappling with ranking people by skin color and origin. To these race-based discriminations were added those she suffered due to her gender.
For Ayumi Moore Aoki, it is clear that tech is a tool for emancipation. The emancipation of women is what she aims for through Women In Tech Global, which works to break the glass ceiling and societal constraints that limit the ambitions of girls and women, and to help them access STEAM careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics). To help women appropriate technology and have an impact on millions of women across 54 countries and six continents, the Women In Tech Global organization relies on four pillars: education, corporate training, digital inclusion, and advocacy.
The founder of CastingForm, a marketplace specialized in promoting talent for the film and entertainment industry, herself came from talent management, a sector where she observed disparities among the people she represented, sometimes struggling to secure for female profiles certain roles reserved for men, or for racialized people roles assigned exclusively to white actors. For her, technology plays an essential role in correcting disparities, promoting inclusivity, and in representation free from stereotypes in film and television. She is convinced that artificial intelligence can be used in this direction, which is why she announced during this conference the launch of CastingForm AI, designed to facilitate matching between scripts and actor profiles.