TAMPA, Fla. — Kids safety online has been an issue for years.
And despite Governor Ron DeSantis recently signing a new lawnot allowing kids under 14 to be on social media. Two young brothers believe blocking social media completely might not be the answer.
“To be completely honest, I was struggling with the issue myself. Like, you know, internet addiction, always being on your phone, always being on your computer,” said Aahil Valliani.
During the Pandemic, Aahil was struggling with his mental health due to isolation and endless hours online seeing content that made him feel worse.
So, with the help of his parents and younger brother, he created Safe Kids. It’s an app that warns children about inappropriate content so they can make safer choices while online.
“Safe Kids is built on a framework that was actually used in foster families. It's called TBRI. So, it's completely based on trust between parents and the kids—or, in the case of schools, kids and their teachers,” explained Aahil.
He continued, “In terms of when kids go to content like this, they understand why it's not good for them, and they're open to sharing with their parents. So that's kind of the fundamentals of it was my experience with my parents.”
With guidance from a psychologist and others using Artificial Intelligence, they began testing pilot programs in various schools.
“When kids would go to a site, what Safe Kids does is it'll instead of blocking the page, it'll stop the page and kind of show them a prompt. It'll tell them why this content is not good for them. And you'd be surprised, 70% of kids did not go to that content again after understanding why that content was not good for them,” said Aahil.
When a student searches for concerning content about suicide, violence, or weapons, it triggers a prompt and warns the child.
“Through this, we actually stopped multiple kids from taking their life, and a possible school shooting, we played a pivotal role in talking to a superintendent,” explained Aahil.
They also use AI to understand what kids are searching for online.
“So, let's say a kid searches up 'I want to buy a gun versus Civil War rifles.' We're able to differentiate which one is harmful intent, and which one is more educational. So that's where AI comes in,” said Aahil.
Safe Kids' new program also includes an email extension feature that looks for bullying and analyzes the writer’s tone.
Aahil said he’s going to continue improving the app until he can release it to everyone.
“I was in a similar position, as I said, and the mission means so much to me. So, this is something I really want to continue working towards, even in college,” said Aahil.
The Safe Kids AI app is still being tested in more schools and should be released by the summer.
The Safe Kids AI for email is available now on the Chrome Store. You can learn more about it by clicking here.
