ABU DHABI: As AI-generated deepfakes and bots grow more sophisticated, online privacy and identity protection have become urgent global concerns, especially for journalists, influencers and media professionals, whose lives unfold in the digital spotlight.

The growing threats of impersonation, character assassination and coordinated online abuse was at the center of a high-stakes conversation on the second day of the Bridge Summit in Abu Dhabi, where regional and international leaders from the technology and media fields tackled the complex risks surrounding digital safety, security and trust in an AI-powered world.

Adeline Hulin, chief of unit, media and information literacy at UNESCO, highlighted the risks that many people, in particular children and women, are facing online. 

Although her work has long centered on promoting safe internet practices, she said that the onus of safeguarding online privacy and security rested primarily with technology companies — the only actors, she argued, capable of keeping pace with the rapid evolution of AI.

“It is going to be really important that instead of people constantly having to adapt to the technology, if the technology itself is more user-centric,” she told the summit.

“We can train people to recognize deepfakes, but technology can do that quicker.”

Major tech companies have come under fire in recent years for failing to tackle harassment and misinformation. This has led to a litany of legislation as governments try to gain control of a growing problem.

But some companies appear to be heeding the call. Erin Relford, senior privacy engineer at Google, said her company was working to embed privacy protections in the infrastructure level beneath the platform.

“We want to give consumers the choice of how much they can share data-wise,” she said.

“The biggest challenge is making sure you have the right people in the room to create these privacy protection platforms.”

Privacy enhancement technology would see several tools released that empowered users to understand how their data was being monetized and aggregated, Relford said.

Google had been working to change the parental controls and make it easier for users to understand their protection, she said, but admitted it was still difficult and more education was needed.

“Most of the power lies within the user. Consumers drive what is popular. In terms of organizations that protect your privacy, we want to encourage them and use their services rather than empowering websites that don’t,” she said.

Education is key 

Still, Relford argued that education was fundamental in rolling out privacy tools. Tech companies could only do so much if people did not increase their awareness online, she said.

“The better we educate people about privacy tools, the less harm we have from the ground up.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Hulin promoted the idea of including online literacy in school curricula. Even high-profile moves, like Australia’s recent headline-grabbing ban on under-16s using social media, would do little to reduce the risks without more education.

“Even if there is banning, it’s not going to change misinformation and disinformation. You still need to teach these kids about the information ecosystem,” she said.

“Parents need to be really interested in the news information that your children are consuming.”

Assel Mussagaliyeva-Tang, founder of Singapore-based startup EDUTech Future, said that the AI revolution demanded close collaboration between schools, universities and families to equip children with the skills to navigate new technologies safely and responsibly.

“We need to set up the guardrails and protection of the kids because they are not aware how the model will respond to their needs,” she said.

A UNESCO survey found that 62 percent of digital creators skip rigorous fact-checking, while a 2024 YouGov study showed only 27 percent of young adults feel confident about AI in education.

Mussagaliyeva-Tang said educators needed to focus on preparing and nurturing adults who were “ready for the world,” by integrating ethics, data literacy and critical thinking into curricula.

But she said that universities and the broader education system remained behind the curve in adapting to emerging technologies and equipping students with the skills needed for responsible digital engagement.

Likewise, tech companies needed to be transparent and inclusive in training their data in a way that represented different cultures, she said.

While global regulations on AI remain fragmented, Dr. Luca Iando, dean and distinguished chair at the Collins College of Professional Studies at St. John’s University, called on educational institutions to actively collaborate with technology platforms to help shape educational content and mitigate the potential harm of AI on children, especially as technologies continue to grow.

He warned of young people’s overreliance on AI and said that educators in the long term needed to focus on developing “durable, human skills” in students and transform the type of assignments and coursework to meet the new age of AI.

There needed to be guidelines for students on using AI responsibly, to prepare them for the workplace, he said.

Highlighting the skills gap between educational institutions and the modern workplace, Mussagaliyeva-Tang said: “Employers want professionals. They don’t have time and the budgets to retrain after the outdated curriculum of the university.”

The rise of AI demanded a rethinking of the true purpose of education to nurture individuals who strove to make a positive impact on a rapidly evolving world, she said.