The Insafe network meets to discuss the Digital Services Act (DSA) and AI at the Insafe Training meeting

Today, another edition of the bi-annual Insafe Training meeting kicks off. The event is an opportunity for the Insafe network of European Safer Internet Centres (SICs) to meet to facilitate the sharing of experience and good practices between network countries, to explore areas of common ground, and opportunities for closer working between awareness raising, helpline, and youth participation strands. The October 2023 Insafe Training meeting is held online, and includes three mornings of sessions on exploring the opportunities and challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Date 2023-10-24 Author BIK Team Section awareness, helplines, hotlines, industry Topic media literacy/education Audience media specialist, organisations and industry, research, policy and decision makers
Two hands holding a piece of a puzzle and the figure of a head missing a space the size of the puzzle piece

Day one

This edition of the Insafe Training meeting includes a series of online sessions spanning over three mornings, from 24 to 26 November 2023. Today, the training meeting officially starts at 10:00 CEST with a welcome address from Better Internet for Kids and the European Commission.

Shortly after, the opening keynote address will focus on the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA is a horizontal instrument that addresses all types of illegal content for all intermediaries. It has more stringent rules for the designated very large online platforms and search engines that have more than 45 million users in the EU than for intermediaries (internet access providers, domain name registers, etc.) and smaller online platforms. This session will provide an overview of the DSA and, in particular, the provisions related to the protection of minors.

The morning will also include a network planning session for the forthcoming edition of Safer Internet Day (SID), next taking place on Tuesday, 6 February 2024, and a parallel session dedicated to helplines who are considering applying to be trusted flaggers under the DSA, to discover more about the role and what will be required.

Days two and three

The following days are fully dedicated to exploring the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI). Recently, AI technologies have become accessible to the general public, so that everyone can use the power of AI ("democratisation of AI"). This offers enormous potential because there are no limits to human creativity, but is also cause for some concerns. 

The first session will introduce the many applications of AI in our everyday lives by showcasing how AI actually works, including both technical and practical aspects, as well as the impact it is already having on our society. The following session will focus on AI and image-based sexual abuse by exploring both the risks of AI in aggravating online sexual abuse with AI-generated nude images, and the benefits of AI when applied to fight online image-based sexual abuse.

As it is customary, there will be a session dedicated to the Insafe resource competition, to showcase the diverse range of educational resources and videos created by the network, this time focusing on resources designed for children under the age of 12.

The last day will be an opportunity to hear from industry representatives (Snap and Roblox) about the ways that they are using AI when developing their products, and to improve and design user experiences. The closing session will focus on how to optimise websites for AI, and will provide thoughts and suggestions for Safer Internet Centres to consider when designing and populating their websites. 

If you wish to learn more about the work of the Insafe network of Safer Internet Centres and other stakeholders in the field, visit the Better Internet for Kids (BIK) portal and subscribe to the quarterly BIK bulletin for news and resources on the latest trends and challenges online.  

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