The authoritarian regime in Iran is using technology to enforce the head covering rule on women with the help of AI.

The use of artificial intelligence by the Islamic Republic of Iran to suppress its citizens, specifically targeting Iranian women, is having a significant impact on their freedoms.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies' senior fellow, Behnam Ben Taleblu, stated to Planet Chronicle Digital that the Iranian regime is utilizing AI technology to enhance its control over the population by combining facial recognition, CCTV, cell phone analysis, traffic geolocation, and internet monitoring. This technology is being used to intensify the regime's crackdown on street protesters and women who do not wear their hijabs correctly.

The Hijab and Chastity Bill, approved by the Iranian Parliament in September 2023, will feature enhanced AI tools.

Taleblu stated that AI has become "the cherry on top of Iran's digital repression, with crude tools like CCTV in shops and AI sorting tools used to criminalize behavior. Since humans don't have to make connections, it allows the Iranian repressive machinery to focus more on mischief."

The Hijab and Chastity Bill's Article 30 mandates police to establish and enhance advanced systems for detecting lawbreakers through tools such as fixed and portable cameras. Meanwhile, Article 60 requires private enterprises to submit video recordings to enforcement officials for compliance verification.

Businesses that do not adhere to regulations could face penalties of "two to six months worth of profits." Women who do not dress modestly could face severe consequences such as "social exclusion, exile, closure of social media pages, passport confiscation for up to two years" and even imprisonment for up to 10 years.

The Hijab and Chastity Bill empowers authorities to employ AI in enforcing the bill, which can result in the targeting of women's homes, vehicles, bank accounts, and livelihoods.

The bill enables Iran to rule with "systemic discrimination aimed at subjugating women and girls," which constitutes gender persecution or apartheid, according to U.N. experts.

The regime in Iran began preparing for increased AI use before the bill's passage, with new cameras being installed as early as April 2023. Amnesty International reported that Iranian women faced increasing pressures between April 15, 2023, and June 14, 2023. During this period, an Iranian police spokesperson claimed that police had sent "almost 1 million SMS warning messages to women caught unveiled in their cars" and 133,174 messages about vehicle immobilizations. About 2,000 cars were confiscated, and more than 4,000 "repeat offenders" were referred to Iran's judiciary.

Amnesty International discovered that the morality police confiscated hundreds of thousands of vehicles between April 2023 and March 2024 due to improper coverings. The confiscation orders were based on surveillance camera pictures or reports from plainclothes agents patrolling the streets and using a police app to report license plates. Additionally, Amnesty reported that some women were sentenced to prison or flogging, faced fines, or were sent to "morality" classes.

It is likely that the government employed AI technology during the 2022 protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, who was beaten by morality police for wearing her hijab too loosely.

According to Iran Wire, Sara Hossain, head of the United Nations’ fact-finding mission into Iran’s 2022 protests, concluded that the Iranian regime employed AI to monitor social media during protests.

The U.S. accelerated its plan to restrict exports of AI chips to China, Iran, and Russia in October 2023 in an effort to limit their access to advanced AI technology.

Taleblu proposed additional ways to strengthen Iran's digital or cyber repressive machinery. He suggests the U.S. collaborate with European companies to tighten export controls and closely monitor new Chinese tech subsidiaries operating in Iran. By consistently exposing and imposing sanctions on these firms, the U.S. can increase their transaction costs.

"Taleblu stated that while there is discussion about technology, cyberspace, and AI liberating individuals and connecting communities, the Islamic Republic aims to utilize these tools to construct barriers and maintain control over Iran and its people."