A new initiative from Alphabet Inc, OpenAI, Roblox Cor. and Discord raised more than US$27mil (RM120.71mil) to provide free, open-source tools for improving child safety online.
Robust Open Online Safety Tools, or ROOST, promises to address "a critical need to accelerate innovation in online child safety,” Eric Schmidt, a founding partner of the organisation and former chief executive officer of Google, said in a statement. ROOST’s AI-powered tools will identify, review and report child sexual abuse material and make core safety technologies more accessible.
The coalition was announced Monday at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris.
"Starting with a platform focused on child protection, ROOST’s collaborative, open-source approach will foster innovation and make essential infrastructure more transparent, accessible, and inclusive, with the goal of creating a safer internet for everyone,” Schmidt said.
Experts in child safety, open-source technology and countering violent extremism are contributing to the effort, according to the statement.
Reports of suspected child exploitation increased 12% from 2022 to 2023, according to the most recent data from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The increase is attributable to both improved detection tools and children spending more time online. Reports involving video-game company Roblox increased 348% and chat app Discord increased 100% in the period, the data showed. – Bloomberg
