Research

Building digital resilience through community-led AI: co-creating safety tools and capacity with minority communities in Wales 

Minority civic groups in Wales face increasing digital challenges, including digital exclusion and targeted online hate and racism. While AI tools offer potential solutions, they are rarely developed with or for minoritised communities, and fail to address their specific needs and cultural contexts. Communities also often lack the capacity to govern and adapt these tools independently. 

This project will enhance AI chatbots to help minority civic groups navigate online harassment and hate speech. It will build on community engagement about digital risks and collaborative research on anti-Asian racism. 

Through iterative co-design workshops with community members that incorporate AI literacy training, the project will develop and evaluate AI tools to provide contextual guidance for responding to digital threats. 

Team

Nicholas Micallef – Senior Lecturer, Swansea University

Yan Wu – Professor, Swansea University

External project partners

Uzo Iwobi – Founder and CEO, Race Council Cymru

Shirley Au-Yeung – Founder and CEO, Chinese in Wales Association