He, her, they robot: gendered AI chatbots and the proliferation of technologically facilitated violence

Abstract

In 2023, influencer Caryn Marjorie made an AI clone but quickly backtracked after sexually explicit, threatening chats became the norm. In 2025, Grok 4 upgraded to include a ‘virtual friends’ feature, with Ani, an anime-esque character. Ani came designed to encourage users to build affection towards unlocking a ‘NSFW’ mode which could function as a personalised pornography model. These character AI bots are purposely built for relationships–but in an era where domestic violence advocates tell us that gendered violence is at an epidemic scale, what effect will this have on gender relations and society? As lawmakers grapple with AI, we look to science fiction to note the way robots have been gendered through time, and how AI continues to function as a tool to proliferate gendered violence. From Ancient Greece to popular science fiction, we argue that when robots are gendered, they are often positioned as either super computers (male) or as assistants (female). The reinforcement of a gender hierarchy reveals one of the fears with the advancement of AI technology–that it will lead to a culture of gendered disrespect. This invites questions about what the law can do to mitigate this technologically facilitated violence.