In a groundbreaking move, tech giants Google, OpenAI, Roblox, and Discord have teamed up to create the ROOST initiative, a non-profit organisation dedicated to bolstering child safety online.
The Robust Open Online Safety Tools (ROOST) initiative is set to arm companies with free, open-source AI tools designed to identify and report child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
With the rapid evolution of generative AI, the online landscape has changed dramatically, prompting a need for innovative safety solutions. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, a founding ROOST partner, highlights the initiative’s mission to accelerate advancements in online child safety. Although details about the CSAM detection tools remain sparse, they promise to leverage large language models to unify existing safety technologies.
ROOST emerges amid intense regulatory scrutiny over child safety on digital platforms. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported a 12% spike in suspected child exploitation cases from 2022 to 2023. Notably, Roblox and Discord have faced criticism for inadequate child protection measures, underscoring the urgency of this initiative.
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ROOST’s collaborative approach will pool resources from its founding members, offering a unified solution that simplifies the implementation of detection and reporting technologies. Roblox’s Naren Koneru suggests that ROOST may host AI moderation systems accessible via API calls, though specifics remain under wraps.
Discord’s contributions, building on the Lantern project, may include enhanced AI models for detecting inappropriate content. Meanwhile, the initiative has secured over $27 million for its initial operations, supported by philanthropic organisations and experts in AI, child safety, and open-source technology.
With a shared vision for a safer internet, ROOST is poised to make significant strides in protecting young users across digital platforms.
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