AI Digital Safety Coach
Personalized, accessible, and actionable digital security support for civil society at scale.
Challenge
Civil society organizations dedicated to defending our democracy are increasingly at risk for digital attacks. From targeted surveillance to doxing and data breaches, these attacks are ultimately designed to dismantle democratic movements and silence dissent.
Journalists, pro-democracy organizations, and advocates for women, immigrants and LGBTQ+ communities are especially vulnerable at this moment. But despite the rising threat, civil society organizations are critically underprepared, putting their mission, their staff, and the communities they serve at risk.
Solution
Civil society doesn’t need more guides – they need a guide. The Human Rights First Innovation Lab, in partnership with the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, is developing an AI- powered security helpdesk and personalized digital safety coach.
This agentic tool delivers tailored, behaviorally informed support to civil society actors at scale. It answers users’ questions in plain language, walks them through custom risk assessments, offers practical nudges to encourage safer practices, and connects them to human help when needed. Designed to meet people where they are, the tool ultimately helps drives follow- through on the right next steps—turning awareness into action.
To date, we have validated the need, secured the necessary partners, and scoped the technical requirements.
We need additional funding to take this from a promising concept to functional prototype. If you are interested in learning more about this project, please contact us.
Short Term Goals
Improve overall digital resilience of 500+ civil society organizations
Deliver 250+ tailored security assessments and actionable risk management plans
Successfully respond to 5,000+ security-related queries
Reduce perceived intimidation or overwhelm around digital security content and tasks
Achieve measurable increases in follow-through on recommended security actions
Secure endorsement and integration of chat agent interface with 10+ security partners
