The online world that young people navigate today is different from the one we encountered just a few years ago: the search engines, social media platforms and digital tools they use to find information, interact with friends and complete schoolwork are now deeply embedded with AI technologies. 

While the core aims of online safety education remain the same, the scope must now expand to include AI literacy: the ability to use, question and navigate AI tools so young people can make responsible choices online.

This is a shared challenge for anyone who supports young people as they navigate the online world: parents and carers, youth leaders and volunteers, and educators across all subjects. Many young people use these AI tools independently, often without guidance, so having open and useful conversations about trust, risk and responsibility matter just as much in the classroom as they do at dinner tables and Code Clubs.

Why AI literacy is essential for staying safe online

At the Raspberry Pi Foundation, we have developed various AI literacy resources for educators, club leaders and parents to address this challenge in age-appropriate and practical ways. Our ‘AI safety’ resources, part of our Experience AI programme, are a set of free comprehensive teaching activities to support you in educating young people aged 11–14 in navigating key safety issues linked to AI, including privacy, misinformation, trust and responsibility. Delivered through videos, unplugged activities and discussions, the activities are adaptable to a range of learning settings, and reflect the real decisions young people are already making online.

For example, in the ‘Trusted Sources’ activity from the ‘Media literacy in the age of AI’ lesson, young people reflect on the ways they look for information related to schoolwork, news and in their free time. They consider which sources are likely to allow the use of generative AI and how that affects their trustworthiness. Rather than labelling sources as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, learners explore questions around responsibility, credibility and oversight, and build practical skills for fact-checking and staying safe online.

Supporting responsible use of generative AI through Experience AI

Alongside the ‘AI safety’ resources, we have also developed a new ‘Large Language Models (LLMs)’ unit for learners aged 11–13 and 14–17, currently being tested in classrooms. The unit focuses on another important aspect of online safety: how young people interact responsibly with AI tools that generate content. While helpful, learners’ uncritical use of these tools could lead to cognitive offloading and limit the development of their higher-order thinking skills. The confident, persuasive tone of LLMs can also make it harder for young people to judge accuracy, recognise bias or notice missing information in outputs. 

To support the critical thinking skills that are essential for staying safe online, the new LLM unit includes research-informed lessons that explore how LLMs are created, why their outputs are not always accurate and how to evaluate AI-generated responses. The unit also encourages learners to reflect on when using an LLM is helpful to their learning, when it is not, and how they can remain in control of their own thinking, learning and skills development.

Starting the conversation this Safer Internet Day

Helping young people stay safe online in the age of AI doesn’t require having all the answers. Instead, it’s about creating the space to pause, question, and think critically about what they are encountering online. Through carefully designed, research-informed and pedagogically aligned AI literacy resources, we aim to help you start the conversations that empower young people to think critically, stay curious and remain in control of their learning and online lives. 

This Safer Internet Day, we invite educators, parents and anyone who supports young people to explore our AI literacy resources and start the conversation. Visit the Experience AI website for more information.