By Aaron Allen, The Seattle Medium
For more than 35 years, the Judge Charles V. Johnson Youth and Law Forum has helped Seattle-area young people understand their legal rights, learn about the justice system and explore careers in law. This year, organizers are extending that conversation into a place where young people increasingly encounter questions about privacy, safety and responsibility: their phones and other digital devices.
Security architect and former Microsoft engineer Rodney Moseley will introduce a three-part series on artificial intelligence, social media and cybersecurity during the forum on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Church by the Side of the Road and Tukwila Municipal Court in Tukwila.
Moseley’s AI & Social Media Youth Security: What’s Next series will use real-world scenarios to help students think through artificial intelligence, social media, privacy, cybersecurity and their digital identities. Students will consider what they would do in different situations before examining the technical, legal and security issues involved. AI_Social_Media_Security_Youth_…
The approach reflects the forum’s longstanding emphasis on giving young people information before they encounter situations that could have legal consequences.
“One of the worst things we can do is wait until the problem reveals itself and then complain about it,” said King County Superior Court Judge LeRoy McCullough, one of the forum’s founders.
“This forum is significant for young people to be absolutely confident in their legal rights,” said McCullough.
Moseley’s involvement grew out of his relationship with McCullough and his own experience bringing his children to the program.
“I got to meet the other judges there and was extremely excited to have been able to work with them,” said Moseley. “Judge McCullough is still an outstanding judge to me, and I definitely appreciate all the guidance he brought to me and allowing my kids to participate in the Youth and Law Forum.”
Moseley said he has seen young people’s attitudes toward the forum change as they participate.
“When they start in the program, they’re all in a different state of ‘do I want to be here, do I not want to be here?’ But around lunchtime, they are engaged and excited about all the different information they receive. You see that transformation in them, and how they use that knowledge beyond the program,” said Moseley.
One of Moseley’s scenarios begins with a student watching a single sneaker video and then finding the student’s social media feed filled with sneakers, athletes, shopping clips and influencers. Moseley asks students to consider whether they chose the feed or whether the feed learned how to choose them.
Students will examine how recommendation algorithms, notifications, watch time and personal data can influence what appears on their feeds, along with questions about what information platforms collect and how efforts to verify a user’s age can raise additional privacy concerns. AI_Social_Media_Security_Youth_…
Another scenario asks students to consider what happens when someone uploads a face to an AI image generator, provides a voice clip to an app or pastes schoolwork into a chatbot. Where does that information go? Who can use it? And what happens when AI gets something wrong? AI_Social_Media_Security_Youth_…
“Using AI can be very addictive because it helps fill the gaps around things you don’t already know,” said Moseley. “When used properly, it helps you with math, writing, and reading because it can answer questions in a way a teacher might not be readily available to do once you leave the classroom. Those are the positive things AI brings.”
But Moseley also cautions against allowing AI to replace independent research, schoolwork or personal relationships.
“If improperly used, it can allow you to go down a rabbit hole making it write your papers, causing you not to do the research you properly need to do, or allowing you to cheat. Another danger is overutilizing it as a social friend, it is not a real person. You have to trust it as a tool and not trust it as a living, breathing friend,” said Moseley.
The forum was founded in 1990 by Black legal leaders including the late Judge Charles V. Johnson, retired Judge Norma Smith Huggins and McCullough. Conceived at First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Seattle amid concerns about inequities in the justice system and strained relationships between law enforcement and minority youth, the forum has since introduced thousands of Black pre-teens and teenagers to the legal system and careers in law.
Moseley’s sessions extend that legal education to online conduct. Through “You Be the Judge” scenarios, students will consider whether forwarding a fake image can make someone part of an incident, whether an anonymous account can be investigated and what a screenshot can and cannot establish as evidence. Discussions will also address deepfakes, nonconsensual synthetic images, privacy and potential legal consequences. AI_Social_Media_Security_Youth_…
Moseley also introduces students to a six-step framework for responding to suspicious, threatening or potentially harmful online activity: STOP, SAVE, VERIFY, TELL, REPORT, SECURE. The framework encourages students to stop before reacting, preserve information, verify what they are seeing, involve someone they trust, report the situation and take steps to secure themselves or their accounts. AI_Social_Media_Security_Youth_…
Moseley takes a similar approach to concerns about screen time.
“That is the same thing they said about television when it first came out, and about computers when they first came on the scene,” said Moseley. “I wouldn’t say screen time itself is the primary concern compared to managing how you turn the computer off and interact with a real person. You need to govern that.”
For Moseley, the goal isn’t to make young people afraid of emerging technology, but to teach them how to use it responsibly.
“I believe AI is going to be our future, it’s that next tool that allows us to leapfrog, just like the personal computer did,” said Moseley. “I want to let students know that you will thrive if you use the internet in a secure and responsible way. Do it in a safe, mindful way, and allow the internet to let you leapfrog into your career, self-knowledge, and avenues of technology you might never be exposed to otherwise.”
The Nov. 14 forum will feature educator and TED Talk presenter Erin Jones as keynote presenter. Honorary co-chairs include King County Executive Girmay Zahilay, Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans, King County Department of Public Defense Director Matthew Sanders, General Counsel to the King County Executive Chelsy Opher Sanders and retired Seattle Police Department Capt. John Hayes.
The free event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the formal program beginning at 9:15 a.m. Additional information and registration are available at youthandlaw.com.
For those unable to attend, Moseley’s final advice offers a practical starting point.
“Don’t be afraid of AI but make sure you are aware of the consequences of misuse in your cybersecurity world. Manage your passwords, manage your usage, and don’t do things that will hurt or harm another person. Protect your cyber presence, do your due diligence, be respectful to the technology, and be respectful to your neighbor,” said Moseley.
