About Anika
Undergraduate A.B. Scholar at Duke
Founder of the Center for Gender Equitable AI
Bio
Anika Dugal is the founder and Executive Director of the Center for Gender Equitable AI (CGEAI), an organization of 200+ young people working to address gendered harms in AI.
CGEAI focuses on AI issues that disproportionately impact women and girls, including nonconsensual explicit deepfakes, algorithmic bias, and AI-driven online harassment. The organization's #StopExplicitDeepfakes campaign garnered over 43,000 views, leveraging grassroots policy advocacy and digital outreach to destigmatize the issue of nonconsensual deepfakes and empower victims. CGEAI's goal is to help create a world where the equity of women and girls in emerging tech is non-negotiable.
Anika is grateful to be an Angier B. Duke, Coca-Cola, Duke Technology, and Laidlaw Scholar. She has been awarded the Points of Light Award and a letter of commendation from Governor Phil Murphy. She served as a representative to the 70th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, a U.S. Senate Youth Program delegate, and was invited to the White House to meet President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. She has been recognized as a Prudential Emerging Visionary, Young Futures Innovator, Groundbreaker for Global Good, and received a shoutout on the TODAY Show. Anika was also named one of Her Campus’s “22 Most Inspiring People Under 22."
Anika previously advised the U.S. Department of Education’s Digital Wellbeing Challenge, a national initiative promoting responsible AI in school districts across the country. She also served on Congressman Pallone’s Youth Advisory Council, representing over 130,000 constituents. Anika is currently an undergraduate at Duke University studying Computer Science and Public Policy, and directed Duke's first undergrad-led tech policy conference, Digital Frontiers 2026. She is passionate about the intersections of AI, human-centered innovation, and social entrepreneurship.
Recognitions
Angier B. Duke Scholar
Coca-Cola Scholar
Prudential Emerging Visionary
Her Campus 22 Under 22
Young Futures Award
Daily Points of Light Award
Laidlaw Scholar
U.S. Senate Youth Program (USSYP) Delegate
Duke Technology Scholar
Laidlaw Scholars Highly Commended Research Designation
Notable Experiences
Founded the Center for Gender Equitable AI, a youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization tackling gendered harms in emerging tech, in November 2022 at sixteen years old (organization formerly known as Girls for Algorithmic Justice). Built CGEAI into a coalition of 200+ youth volunteers creating globe-spanning initiatives and resources.
Served as a youth advisor to the DOE's Digital Wellbeing Challenge, a collaboration between the Office of Educational Technology and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The Digital Wellbeing Challenge aimed to support local student-led solutions to digital challenges in school communities, such as social media use.
Founded and directed the 2026 Digital Frontiers Conference on behalf of Duke Cyber. The Digital Frontiers Conference was Duke's first undergraduate-led tech policy conference, and brought together ~80 people at the Sanford School of Public Policy, and included a keynote by Gen. C.Q. Brown, Jr., formerly the United States' highest-ranking military official.