Safeguarding and PSHE
With any new technology comes new risks.
Neo-Nazi groups have been creating AI versions of Hitler and Goebbels to radicalise young people. Gaming platforms offer AI sex avatars for the user to enact whatever violent fantasy they choose. A simple pair of Meta glasses can be used to harvest personal information and strike up a conversation with a stranger...
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While there is some evidence that the online 'stranger danger' message is cutting through, AI presents new risks for exploitation, abuse and exposure of children to violent, sexual or radicalising materials.
Training and Development
So far, there is no sanctioned safeguarding training that addresses AI. As teachers with over 15 years of experience, we recognise that this leaves us in a grey area where the health and development of children is at risk, and yet there is no specific guidance. The issue of Deepnudes is likely to appear in the next KSCIE update and we hope that the government will address the risks to relationships that online chatbots and avatars present. However, at present, government focus has been mainly on the efficiencies AI can offer in the education world. We believe this to be concerning.
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If there are 1500 new AIs a week, your students will likely be the first to encounter them. Unlike social media, most AIs aimed at children have no moderator, no community guidelines and few have any age verifications systems.
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Safeguarding concerns with AI generally fall into the following categories:
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Online and offline grooming
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Parasocial relationships, including bullying and intimate relationships
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Radicalisation and racist / misogynist echo chambers
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While the broad concerns remain the same as before, the mechanisms are new and changing fast. You are therefore likely, as safeguarding leads, to be confronted with situations that are entirely novel. We offer training, based on our experience with government and large NGOs, on helping you to consider your previous praxis and your stated school values, and use these to articulate your ethical framework. This enables you to concentrate on how best to help the child in front of you in the moment.
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Some schools rely on 'compassion and common sense'. Others already have very clear and detailed statements of values. Undoubtedly, everyone in this sphere wants the best for the students. However, you do not want to have to be exploring this in real-time in a rapidly developing situation. We help you to think some of these scenarios through in advance, identifying where school policy and ethos need refining or further articulating, and - crucially - helping you to communicate these shared values to parents and students.
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Have a look at the self-assessment section and consider how you would treat these issues. If you would like to explore any of this further, please use the contact form on the training page below and we would be happy to discuss.​
Some of our clients
