My Experience at TrustCon 2023: Challenging Problems, Captivating Speakers, and a Vibrant T&S Community
By Sandra Khalil, Head of Partnerships + Trust & Safety vertical at All Tech Is Human
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend TrustCon and participate in the inaugural Trust and Safety Hackathon in San Francisco. TrustCon brought together over 850 global professionals, all tackling incredibly challenging problems from different lenses, to explore the next wave of issues in the evolving trust and safety landscape. Reflecting on the week’s activities, here are some of my highlights:
Examining generative AI’s and other emerging tech effects on CSAM, MDM, and extremism from the folks actively tracking these trends.
Listening to former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern speak about her call to action after the Christchurch terrorist attack, and applauding the trust and safety professionals who jumped into action to combat terrorism and extremist rhetoric online.
Feeling the excitement and kindness of the T&S community, and seeing their eyes light up upon hearing I’m from All Tech Is Human or learning about our work.
If you told me a year ago, when I tuned into the first North America TrustCon as a virtual participant, that I’d be speaking about our work to this robust community of practitioners, government and civil society representatives, and academics, I wouldn’t have believed you. I was especially proud to make a case for why All Tech Is Human is onto something special by supporting the next generation of T&S leaders and expanding the responsible tech community globally. Civil society and nonprofit organizations in this space have a critical role to play in mapping the landscape of the development, partnership/collaboration, and implementation of global trust and safety policies.
Finally, my awesome hackathon team, led by Ashish Kalsi, had a ton of fun creating AgeGuard, a tool that proactively blocks content from underage users through a prediction system that determines ages by analyzing networks, user behavior, and other signals! You can browse the winning ideas and learn more about the Trust and Safety Hackathon here.
I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the organizers, speakers, fellow attendees, and all those involved in making TrustCon an unforgettable event. I’m already excited about what’s in store at the next hackathon and TrustCon 2024! Until then, we’ll continue supporting this vital ecosystem to ensure people’s safety online.
Trust and Safety Hackathon Team #1 (From front to back): Sandra Khalil, Carolina Christofoletti, Ashish Kalsi, Nithisha Nantha Kumar, Jiazheng Sun, Masaya Sugimoto, and Shubhi Mathur.
