On 6th October, within the framework of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) AI for Good Global Summit, UNICRI’s Centre on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics (based in The Hague, The Netherlands), co-organized with ITU the Webinar “Keeping our children safe with artificial intelligence".
Keynote speakers included: Irakli Beridze, Head of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics of UNICRI; John Tanagho, Director, IJM Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children (END OSEC Center), International Justice Mission; Yalda Aoukar, President of Bracket Foundation; Ahmad Altamimi, Director of the Child Protection Center, Ministry of Interior United Arab Emirates (UAE); Marija Manojlovic, Strategy and Innovation Advisor, Child Online Safety Lead at End Violence Partnership and the Fund; and Joanna Rubinstein, Senior Advisor at Sustainable Development Solutions Network.
The meeting, moderated by Irakli Beridze, brought together over 200 participants to discuss the role AI can play in combatting online child sexual abuse materials (CSAM).
In the words of Yalda Aoukar: “Some progress has been made to address this mounting crisis which is really at its tipping point with over 720,000 pictures of child sexual abuse uploaded every day. However, I firmly believe there can be no solution without the complete unequivocal buy-in and participation of Big Tech cleaning up the toxicity on their platforms alongside a proper legal framework to hold them accountable while safeguarding our children’s rights. Bracket Foundation is committed to finding solutions to make the internet safer for children using new technologies. It recently signed a MOU with UNICRI to empower law enforcement agencies with new tech tools to prevent, detect and prosecute these crimes.”
John Tanagho, Director, END OSEC Center, International Justice Mission said: “Effective justice systems and public-private partnerships to develop AI detection tools are critical to ending online sexual exploitation of children. International Justice Mission has seen strengthened justice systems protecting vulnerable populations from abuse by replacing impunity with accountability, and tech innovations are central to this global fight to protect our children by ending impunity."
Marija Manojlovic, Strategy and Innovation Advisor, Child Online Safety Lead at End Violence Partnership and the Fund, stated: “End Violence Safe Online Investment portfolio is making impact globally and this year it is reaching US$ 50M in investments in technology, tools, programs and capacity to tackle online CSEA. But more is needed: collaboration between countries and sectors, stronger legislation, accountability, leadership and investments, particularly from tech sector and governments.”
Developing and applying #AI to make our online world safe for #children!
Watch and listen the intense discussion about a sensitive topic that impacts millions of children worldwide. The full recording is available here
About the International Telecommunication Union’s AI for Good Global Summit: The Summit is the leading action-oriented, global and inclusive United Nations platform on AI. The Summit is organized by the ITU with XPRIZE Foundation, in partnership with UN Sister Agencies, Switzerland and ACM.
