Helping women gain more visibility is a central mission of herCAREER — and it’s working, both at our expo and throughout the year through our platform’s ongoing efforts. What makes the difference is an environment built on mutual appreciation and empowerment — as well as protection and safety.

Visibility in certain environments carries risks – especially for women. Those who are visible in public, who take a stand, are successful, or outspoken, are particularly exposed to hostility – both online and, potentially, offline. Beyond the impact on those directly targeted, there’s also a chilling effect on others. And that’s dangerous for society as a whole.

All the more reason to celebrate when a startup comes up with a strong idea to counter this trend and offer practical help.

PENEMUE (named after the angel from the ancient Hebrew Book of Enoch who taught humans how to write – a blessing and a curse all at once) is a fitting name for an AI-powered app that detects and flags hate speech and potentially criminal content in real time to protect people from digital violence.

According to founders Sara Egetemeyr and Jonas Navid Mehrabanian Al-Nemri, “The digital tool identifies anti-democratic, discriminatory, and human rights-violating content and classifies it according to specific hate speech categories and criminal offenses.”

As reported by the Handelsblatt, the technology is designed to “help companies and public figures detect toxic content and hate speech in real time across direct messages, comment sections, social media debates, and intranet environments. This allows community managers, for instance, to save the time they would otherwise spend deleting comments.”

In one test, Handelsblatt notes, the tool flagged the following: “Hate speech, toxic content, racism. Criminal offense under Section 130 of the German Criminal Code: Incitement to hatred.” It seems it’s becoming increasingly hard to “insult someone with impunity.”

The “digital guardian angel” is currently being tested in a pilot program with scientific oversight. One of the participants is Green Party MP Chantal Kopf, who says:
“In the past, I didn’t have the time or focus to delete or report inappropriate comments on my accounts. Yet I believe it’s my responsibility to ensure that my comment sections aren’t lawless spaces. Working with Penemue helps me quickly filter out hate speech. The AI automatically gives me an initial assessment of which comments might contain criminal content, so I can potentially take legal action. Hate speech is meant to intimidate and discourage people from participating in open dialogue – it harms our democracy and must not be ignored.”

In a YouTube interview, Sara Egetemeyr explains:
“What makes our models so innovative is that they can capture how language – and hate – evolves. That means our systems are constantly learning; we’re continuously developing and adapting them to reflect societal change.”

Sounds like a truly promising approach. We’re excited to see where this goes. What do you think?

In the latest episode of the herCAREER podcast, Yasmin Weiß, Eva Gengler, and Christiane Nischler-Leibl (on behalf of Minister of State Ulrike Scharf) talk with Kristina Appel about the impact of AI tools – especially for women – in: “Our Future of Work with Artificial Intelligence – How Women Can Benefit.”

Because: “There’s an AI for everything. And AI is for everyone.”

Listen to the episode here: Unsere Zukunft der Arbeit mit künstlicher Intelligenz – Wie Frauen davon profitieren können (available only in German language)

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herVIEW - Natascha Hoffner

Posted by Natascha Hoffner,Founder & CEO of herCAREER | Recipient of the FTAfelicitas Award from Femtec.Alumnae e.V. | LinkedIn Top Voice 2020 | Editor of the “Women of the Year” books published by Callwey Verlag
posted on LinkedIn on 27.03.2025

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