In response to growing concerns regarding online safety, Optus welcomed over 200 Year 9 students from across Sydney to its campus last week for an in depth information session about AI.
Students from Nepean Creative & Performing Arts High School and Erskine Park High School were invited to attend the workshop.
Designed to unpack online threats including extortion, scams and deepfakes, the workshop is part of the Optus Digital Thumbprint program aiming to give young Australians the knowledge to navigate the risks online.
The students participated in a Gen AI workshop, aimed at tackling the increasing challenges young people are facing online, while a further 1,100 primary students attended the event virtually.
Students also heard from a youth-led panel featuring eSafety Youth Council representative Aditi Kamath, Westfield Sports High School student Rozlinda, and Optus AI Product Manager Honre Young, on young people’s experiences with digital threats.
Rozlinda shared the biggest challenges she and her peers face online.
“Cyber bullying is an issue because people feel more confident behind a screen saying mean things,” she explained.
“And this cyber bullying can escalate when AI is brought into the discussion.”
Students also designed their own emojis and trained an AI image classifier to recognise and recreate them.
In addition to the on-campus event, Optus’ Digital Thumbprint program has surveyed more than 3,500 students who have completed a workshop since 2023.
They were asked about the online challenges they’re facing with 41 per cent of students saying they wanted more information on how to recognise fake news and misinformation, 31 per cent said they couldn’t tell if content was made with GenAI, 19 per cent said they have experienced deepfakes and chatbots online, and 27 per cent revealed the biggest challenge they face online is protecting their personal information from AI scams and extortion.
Chief Corporate Affairs and Marketing Officer at Optus, Felicity Ross, is encouraging teachers and parents to also educate themselves using Optus’ toolkit.
“Young people today face a more challenging digital environment than ever before,” she said.
“As parents, carers and educators, it’s essential we stay informed and support young people to use their digital literacy skills to think critically about what they see online.
“From recognising scam tactics and spotting deepfakes to understanding how to support digital wellbeing, we all have a role to play in helping our youth to navigate this complex digital world safely.”
Since 2013, the Optus Digital Thumbprint Program has delivered free educational workshops to 1140 schools reaching 670,000 students across Australia.
Schools can sign up for a free Digital Thumbprint workshop session at http://www.digitalthumbprint.com.au/genai-online-safety.
Emily Chate
Emily Chate joined The Western Weekender in 2024, and covers local news - primarily courts and politics. A graduate of the University of Wollongong, Emily has contributed to The Daily Telegraph and worked as a freelance journalist.