AI in Urban Life: The Hidden Gender Bias Shaping Our Cities

AI could have groundbreaking effects on urban safety – if it had all of our cities’ inhabitants in mind. Gender expert Lizzette Soria explains how hidden gender biases in AI-driven innovations shape our cities.

In the last decade, there has been increased interest in harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) and innovation to transform cities into smarter, more sustainable, and inclusive communities. However, existing research demonstrates a lack of gender-related issues in the planning and development of smart cities since the term’s inception in the nineties. Moreover, a study by the Berkeley Haas Center for Equity, Gender and Leadership analysed 133 AI systems across different industries and found that about 44 per cent of them showed gender bias.

In this context, it is critical to explore the connection between gender equality, AI, and urban policy. The following article looks at three key areas of intersection:

1. Women’s Safety in Smart City Design

Smart cities can improve urban safety for women through tools like AI-driven security, safety apps and wearables, anonymous reporting, smart planning, enhanced public transport, and smart lighting.

Some of these measures are focused on integrated surveillance and rectory measures, such as making cities safer by identifying threats and responding to the incidents. For example, some applications and emergency alarms allow users to alert someone when they feel unsafe and activate assistance if needed.
However, data evaluating these measures are lacking; in some cases, they have proven inefficient and even dangerous. For example, in New Delhi, a study noted issues related to alarm buttons, including the need to ensure there is enough staff available to react to alarms and support the victims promptly and that women users did not know about this option in the first place.

Other more promising innovations on the prevention side include women’s digital safety audits as well as crowd-sourced information of an area to inform smart urban planning in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Chennai, India; and many other cities.

2. Gender Data and Transport

There is very little data disaggregated by sex in transportation. Most national statistical offices do not have the structure, the network or the resources to collect this information. To address this gap, some cities are harnessing the great advances in AI and data collection methods to help bridge gender data gaps in transport. Some of these, mostly from the private sector, include driving licenses, car insurance companies, train tickets, bike sharing, and public transport travel cards that require sex-desegregated data.

For example, e-micromobility has had greater uptake by male users from its inception. Yet, the gendered analysis and reporting of e-micromobility has not been analysed in detail on a larger scale. A recent review identified that out of 292 papers across 37 different countries, half of all papers had a male majority sample, while only 15 per cent had an equal split of male and female participants.

In France, a quantitative study of a carpooling app, which uses machine learning to track trips, found out that 90 per cent of the pooling options had been declined because the machine’s prediction was not accurate for female users. As a result, carpooling ventures are using sex-desegregated data to create more inclusive services.

3. Education and Access to Services

The integration of digital technologies and artificial intelligence into learning environments presents exciting opportunities for transforming urban education. These technologies hold the potential to break down barriers to learning, making it more inclusive and adaptable to the unique needs of diverse women in urban settings.

With a focus on behavioral change through education and community engagement, some cities are leveraging digital platforms and social media to spread awareness about available services and support women in cities. However, in low-income countries, only 20 per cent of women are connected to the internet. Some promising practices in this area include urban innovations that support the digital literacy of women and girls, prioritise feedback and adaptation from diverse users, and put in place ethical data practices.

Following the do no harm approach, urban policies should take measures to prevent and alleviate any potential adverse consequences of its actions on the affected populations. In this context, these urban innovation solutions should guarantee that data collection and use are transparent, consensual, and secure, especially when dealing with vulnerable populations. This involves clear communication about how data will be used, obtaining explicit consent, and implementing robust security measures to protect personal information.

The Way Forward

In 2025, we are celebrating 30 years of championing women’s rights globally since the historic Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. At the same time, we are witnessing the rise of AI at a rapid speed, with both emerging opportunities and threats for women and girls. In this context, it is critical to ensure that urban innovations can dismantle existing gender biases rather than reinforce them. Global action and urban policies that prioritise women’s rights in both physical and digital life in cities are needed. For example, the Global Digital Compact, led by the United Nations, provides a promising framework for the global governance of digital technology and AI that can be applied to urban policies and programmes.

These include specific guidelines to promote transparency, accountability, and robust human oversight of AI systems in compliance with international law as well as the sustainable development goals (SDGs). In addition, they ensure the equal and meaningful participation of all women and girls in the digital space to advance sustainable development. Hence, to truly build smart cities that serve everyone, AI and urban innovation must center on gender equality — turning technology from a source of bias into a powerful tool for inclusion, safety, and rights for all women and girls.