Insights.

It started, as these things often do, with good intentions. One of the many Online Safety Educators that are popping up all over LinkedIn had seen something concerning online. We need to keep front of mind that we live in an attention economy where concern is currency. Outrage fuels algorithms and even posts intended as red flags often guide users directly to the thing they were told to fear. And not just kids. Adults too. We’ve seen it again and again: a new AI companion app

Last month Roblox announced a major expansion of age estimation across all users who access its communication features rolling out facial age estimation, ID verification, and verified parental consent by the end of the year. This will moves Roblox beyond outdated self-declaration models and into a future-proofed system that understands both today’s risks and tomorrow’s responsibilities. At its core it means that Roblox is implementing new controls that will limit communicatio

This isn’t just about erotica it’s about escalation and it’s already begun as we predicted. This is not a feature drop it’s a whopping big signal. A signal that the architecture of intimacy is being handed over to systems that simulate emotion but are incapable of understanding it. OpenAI announced less than 24hrs ago that they are preparing to loosen content restrictions on ChatGPT, opening the door to adult themes including erotica, as part of what CEO Sam Altman calls a br

The quiet unravelling after deepfake abuse and what we can do better. Today I was sent an article from the ABC that you can read here . The story doesn’t end with police involvement. It doesn’t end with headlines. It barely even begins there. What happens next off-camera, off-record, and often off-script is what should worry us most.There is a stark asymmetry in the aftermath of digital sexual harm. If the perpetrator is over the age of 18yrs they will face serious charges. I

This week, three developments grabbed my attention, and they’re not disconnected. They expose a pattern: innovation outpacing...

It used to be simple when a student won an award, made the team, spoke at assembly, and someone took a photo. That photo ended up in the...

Two decades ago, a Harvard sophomore stitched together a cruel little website. It raided student directories without permission, ripped...

The words free speech  carry a seductive power. They’re waved in protest signs, muttered in pub arguments, thrown into comment threads on...

The Social Media Minimum Age (SMMA) legislation was passed in 2024. Until last week, the details of how it would work were unclear. With...

Across Australia, more and more early childhood services are quietly shutting their lenses. No images sent home. In some centres, every...

This is one of those inflection points in tech history that should be lighting up every radar… product, policy, legal, safety,...

This morning, my partner called me from Italy on Signal. He rang to wish me a happy birthday. There was that comforting little delay, the...

What 1,000 Children Just Taught Us About the Future of Education By Kirra Pendergast When we talk about education, we default to the...

The screenshot below isn’t clickbait. It’s not even rare. It’s a mother’s real post to a support group on Facebook that was sent to me...

These images of “Big sis Billie” were generated using Meta AI on Meta’s Facebook Messenger service, in response to a Reuters...

Trigger Warning: This piece discusses suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, and substance abuse involving minors. If you or someone you...

A scatter of sideways glances, twitching grins, half-swallowed laughs. Not cruel, not even overtly dismissive just buoyed by the comfort...

When Big Tech CEOs speak, they don’t shout, they soothe. They turn risk into “connection,” danger into “innovation,” and reframe your...

If you would like to book a 45-minute "Preparing for the 16+ Age Delay Webinar and Q&A" with Kirra Pendergast for your school community,...

The line between what schools know and what they do just got a legal reckoning - by Andrea Turner Ctrl+Shft Legal Advisor In July 2025,...

We’re living through a moment where digital instincts haven't caught up with digital reality. A moment where a feature can feel like a...

When things go wrong online, it is 24/7, it cuts deeper, lasts longer, and follows them home. Whether your child is being bullied, or...

When a child makes a catastrophic mistake online, the first question people ask is always the same.   Where were the parents?   It’s a...

Last week, like so many others, I sat with the weight of the news. The devastating revelations of abuse in early childhood education...