Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, entered a hotel meeting room in Brooklyn on Thursday, meeting dozens of young leaders working on technology safety, policy and innovation.
Young adults chatted on a black round table.
After passing through various tables in the room, he took the stage to talk about the hopes and harms of this era of technological advancement.
“I thank God that you exist, I appreciate that you are here,” he said. He spoke about high-tech platforms that have become more powerful than the government. Although these social media spaces were created based on communities, they said “we are not responsible for ensuring the safety of these online communities.”
At one point, he said there are powerful people who are incentivized only by pure interest, not by safety and happiness. “You have the knowledge and skill set, confidence, courage and courage to stand up to these things,” he told the crowd.
The event yesterday was held by the Responsible Tech Youth Power Fund (RTYPF), a grant initiative to support youth organizations working to shape the future of technology. Duke's foundation, Archel co-founded with his wife, Duchess of Sussex, Meghan, and funded a second cohort of RTYPF recipients, along with names such as Pinterest and Pivotal Ventures at Melinda French Gates.
TechCrunch received exclusive access to events to chat with the average age around 22 about their work in a rapidly changing tech landscape.
Young people at the event were cautiously optimistic about the future of artificial intelligence, but were concerned about the impact that social media could have on their livelihoods. Everything is moving very fast these days, they said, faster than the law can catch up.
“Youth are not anti-technology,” said Lydia Burns, 27, who leads youth-community partnerships at a nonprofit. “We just feel that there should be more input and seating at the table to talk about how these things affect our lives.”
Each turn of all conversations at the event returned to social media.
They consume every part of a young person's life, but the clouds can get dark, the young person said at the event.
Adam Billen, 23, helps to implement organizational encodings that advocate for safe and responsible AI. He is working on the Take It Down Act, calling for him to tackle AI-generated porn and other laws, like SB53 in California, who wants to establish protection for employees whistleblowers over AI-related issues. Biren, like other young people at the event, is working quickly to help people in power understand the new technologies that are innovating even faster.
“All recently two years ago, it was impossible for someone without technical expertise to create realistic AI nudes for someone,” he told TechCrunch. “However, today, advances in generative AI have made public apps and websites advertised to children available,” on social media platforms.
He has heard cases where young people take pictures of their classmates, just dressed completely, upload them to an AI image platform, and get realistic nudes of their colleagues. It's not yet illegal nationwide to do that, he said, and Big Tech's guardrails are loose. On these platforms, they said it's very easy to see ads for tools to create deep fake porn. In other words, it's easy for kids to find it.
Sneha Dave, 26, founder of Generation Patient, an organization advocating for support for young people with chronic conditions, is also worried about the sharp turns adopted by social media. Influencers are offering paid ads for prescription drugs, and teenagers are being supplied with drug ads on social media, she said.
“We don't know how the FDA will work with these companies to flag them to make sure that the influencers promoting these prescription drugs are not spreading any misinformation,” Dave told TechCrunch, speaking about the big technology platform.
Social media is generally at a mental health crisis, young people told us. Yoelle Gulko, 22, is working on films to help people better understand the dangers of social media. She said she's been walking around university campus recently, and has heard that many people just need to delete their social media accounts and feel helpless about their relationship with the online world.
“Young people should not be left to dodge for themselves,” Gulco said. “Young people should really be given the tools to succeed online, and that's what many of us do.”
And they want a table seat to help make a difference
Leo-Woo, 21, remembers the exact moment he launched the nonprofit AI Consensus.
It's back in 2023 when the hype around ChatGpt was circulating. “There was all this report from the university and the media about how it's destroying education,” Wu told TechCrunch. “And we felt that this wasn't the case at all, it was an attitude that should be taken.”
So he launched the AI consensus. This will work with students, tech companies and educational institutions to talk about the best ways students can use AI in schools.
“Is it the teenagers' fault for being obsessed with Instagram?” Wu told us, capturing what many young people felt when asked. “Or is this technology a company that is addictive?”
WU wants to help students learn how to work with AI while learning how to think for themselves.
Working to promote regulations was the main way that attendees we spoke to tried to advocate for themselves. However, some people built their own organizations and put the young people's perspective at the forefront.
“We see it as a bridge between our current government and the future of responsible technology,” says Jennifer Wang, founder of Paragon, who connects governments with students looking for perspectives on technology policy issues.
Meanwhile, generation of patients, Dave, is looking for more collaboration between the FDA and FTC. She is also working to help pass the bill through Congress to protect patients from drug ads that deceive patients online.
Encode's Billen is looking to support bills in various states that require disclosure boxes, so knowing that he is talking to things like AI and California bills rather than humans, he is trying to ban minors from using chatbots. He's looking at the character. The lawsuit will file a close lawsuit, saying that the verdict in that case will become a landmark that will shape future AI regulations.
His company, Encoding, along with others in the technological policy field, submitted an outline of Amicus in favour of his character's suing mother about the role he played in his son's death.
At one point during the event, the Duke sat next to Wu and talked about the opportunities and dangers of AI. They spoke about the need for more accountability and the ability to drive change. The solution was clear.
“The people in this room,” Wu said.