Veronyka Gimenes

Veronyka Gimenes, known as Travahacker, is a Brazilian trans hacktivist, programmer, activist, and digital communicator whose work focuses on technology, social justice, and LGBTQIA+ rights. Gimenes has contributed to civic and gov-tech projects through Núcleo Digital, collaborating with São Paulo City Hall, Brazil's Ministry of Culture, the Brazilian Bar Association, and the World Bank. This experience led to the co-founding of Código Não Binário, a nonprofit organization that integrates technology, gender, social justice, and digital rights. Gimenes also founded Digital Culture House in Porto Alegre.

Gimenes gained international recognition for applying artificial intelligence to address online hate speech. Alongside Amanda Claro, Gimenes co-founded Código Não Binário and developed "TybyrIA," an open-source AI model designed to detect anti-LGBTQIA+ hate speech. The creation of "TybyrIA" was inspired by a viral episode of the podcast "Entre Amigues," produced by Código Não Binário, which discussed the Brazilian transmasculine identity boyceta and sparked an anti-trans hate campaign. Recognizing the potential to use data from this campaign, Gimenes leveraged AI to automate the identification of hate speech, naming the tool after Tybyra of Maranhão, regarded as the first documented victim of anti-LGBT+ violence in Brazil's colonial history.

By fine-tuning an open-source model, Gimenes catalogued hate speech at scale, using the evidence to file a public civil action lawsuit against Meta, Google, X, and ByteDance, seeking damages and advocating for stronger platform accountability. Under Gimenes' leadership, Código Não Binário has also developed an AI-powered investigative tool to support local collectives monitoring the Braskem environmental case in Maceió and contributed to the legal defense of a trans artist during elections, influencing digital rights and anti-hate litigation. The organization has informed public policy through the publication of "Transphobia and Hate Speech on Social Media" for CGI.br, Brazil's Internet Steering Committee.

Gimenes received a Du Bois Prize Special Mention at the Cooperative AI Conference in Istanbul for the Radar Social LGBTQIA+ V2.1 project. TIME Magazine named Gimenes among the 100 most influential people in artificial intelligence, highlighting work in AI for anti-LGBTQIA+ hate detection, digital rights, and AI education in the Global South. Gimenes is the only Brazilian and the only person from Latin America on the TIME100 AI list. Gimenes advocates for critical engagement with AI technologies.

Gimenes has spoken at international and national events, including TEDxUFRJ, the Democracy Lab at MediaLab-Prado in Madrid, MIS São Paulo, the Creative Commons Global Summit in Mexico, and RightsCon in Costa Rica and Taiwan. Recognition includes honors from the World Summit Award, UN-Habitat, and Favourite Website Awards. Gimenes addresses the intersection of technology, human rights, and artificial intelligence, encouraging audiences to consider AI as a means of resistance and collective empowerment.