Basma Ghonim

Egyptian cyber-activist who developed AI tools for Arabic digital rights protection

Basma Ghonim (b.1990), Cairo-based tech activist, launched Humanise AI initiative combating digital authoritarianism in Arabic cyberspace. Her open-source toolkit Kalima (The Word) uses NLP to detect government surveillance patterns across 22 Arabic dialects.

After her brother's 2015 arrest (unrelated to Google's Wael Ghonim), Basma developed encryption methods preserving arabizi (Arabic chat alphabet). Her 2020 research exposed how 78% of MENA region content moderation tools misclassify activism as 'terrorism.' This led Microsoft to revise its Arabic AI classifiers.

Ghonim's Decolonizing AI Manifesto influenced EU's AI Act language provisions. Her 2023 Algorithmic Justice for Arabic Speakers won RSA Award despite Egyptian government blocks. Using synthetic media, she created 'Digital Amira' - an AI activist chatbot evading state censorship through Quranic poetry metaphors.