The morning light was still soft over Phnom Penh when fifty young Cambodians began to gather for a workshop that would ask more of them than simply sitting through lectures. They were university students, recent graduates, and young professionals, and they had come with a sense of purpose that felt heavier than the usual networking event. These were people who had watched their parents struggle to tell real messages from fake ones. They had seen classmates share misinformation that spread fear through village chat groups. They had heard stories of neighbors losing money to callers whose voices sounded exactly like a relative in distress. Artificial intelligence was no longer a distant concept in a Silicon Valley news article. It was already here, embedded in the apps and social media platforms that Cambodians use every day, and it was being used to create scams, fake videos, and false news in the Khmer language. The workshop, held on September 29, was organized by the APNIC Foundation and Open Development Cambodia, with support from the Australian government and cybersecurity organization ISC2, under the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity’s Young Professionals and Students programme. But the organizers did not want a room full of passive trainees. They wanted problem-solvers. So after the introductions, the participants split into teams and began working on real challenges: how to help older and rural residents stay safe online, how to give students with limited internet access better opportunities to learn, and how to ensure universities use AI responsibly. The room filled with the sound of discussion as ideas were sketched on whiteboards and debated over cups of coffee. For many, it was the first time they had been invited to think of themselves not as victims of technology or as bystanders to digital change, but as people capable of shaping how technology is used in their own communities.
The problems the young Cambodians chose to tackle were not abstract. Across the country, older people are often the targets of phishing messages designed to steal banking information or gain access to social media accounts. Scammers now use AI-generated voices to imitate family members in distress, calling grandparents and asking for money. They create deepfake videos of public figures saying things they never said, spreading confusion and distrust. False information written in Khmer can travel quickly through messaging apps, where there is little fact-checking and where people tend to trust what they receive from friends and relatives. At the same time, many students in rural areas still struggle with unreliable internet connections, making it hard for them to access the same learning resources as students in the capital. Universities, meanwhile, are beginning to explore what AI can offer, but without clear guidelines, there is a risk that students and teachers will use it in ways that are convenient rather than honest. The workshop participants were asked to think about all of this, not just as individual users but as future leaders, educators, engineers, and policy-makers. They considered the emotional weight of online scams, the quiet frustration of a student whose video lesson keeps buffering, the embarrassment of a professor discovering that a student submitted an AI-written essay without understanding a single line of it. These were not problems that could be solved by a single app or a single law. They required a deep understanding of how people actually live, communicate, and trust one another. And that is exactly what the young participants brought to the table.
Over the course of the day, the workshop became a kind of training ground for responsible digital citizenship. Participants learned about phishing, account takeovers, deepfakes, and scams that use AI-generated voices or videos. They discovered how simple practices like multi-factor authentication can make it much harder for attackers to break into an account, and they talked through what to do if a security incident does happen. But the training was not just about individual protection. It was about building the confidence to help others. The teams were asked to design responses to community problems, not just to protect themselves. One group focused on creating simple, visual guides that could be shared in village groups, showing people how to recognize a suspicious message and what to do if they think they have been scammed. Another looked at ways to deliver educational content to students who cannot easily stream videos, perhaps by creating lighter, text-based versions of lessons that could be shared offline. A third team considered how universities could develop policies for responsible AI use, policies that encourage creativity and critical thinking rather than punishing students for using new tools. Throughout the process, the organizers pushed the participants to think about the risks and limitations of their ideas. Would a guide actually reach the people who needed it most? Could a new platform become another place where misinformation spreads? Was it enough to teach people to verify information, or did they also need better access to trustworthy sources? By asking these questions, the workshop made clear that technology alone cannot solve the problems of the digital age. It has to be combined with human judgment, local knowledge, and a genuine desire to protect the most vulnerable.
That message was echoed by Aftab Siddiqui, the head of stakeholder relations at the APNIC Foundation, who spoke about the importance of young people understanding both the uses and the limits of AI-generated content. He said that building capability means combining effective use of AI with verification, critical evaluation, and appropriate human oversight. In other words, AI is a tool, not a replacement for thinking. It can help people translate languages, summarize documents, create images, and generate ideas, but it can also make mistakes, repeat biases, and be deliberately misused. For Cambodians, this is especially important because AI systems are often trained on data from other countries and other languages, meaning they may not fully understand Khmer culture, local context, or the nuances of how people communicate in Cambodia. A young person who grows up in Phnom Penh may know how to question an AI-generated message, but a farmer in a remote province may not. The young professionals at the workshop understood this. They were not interested in using AI for the sake of looking modern. They were interested in using it responsibly, in ways that would actually help their communities. They recognized that a deepfake video of a politician could cause real harm in a country where social media plays a powerful role in shaping public opinion. They knew that a convincing scam call could destroy a family’s savings. And they knew that the fight against misinformation in Khmer would have to be fought in Khmer, by people who understand the language, the humor, the idioms, and the trust networks that make information spread.
Thy Try, the executive director of Open Development Cambodia, underlined the broader significance of the moment. Digital skills, responsible AI use, and cybersecurity are no longer optional for young Cambodians, he said. They are becoming essential. Young people need the confidence to help shape how emerging technologies are used, not just in their own lives but in schools, businesses, and government. The workshop was designed to give them that confidence. It was delivered under the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity’s Young Professionals and Students programme, which aims to bring together the next generation of ICT leaders from across the region. With ISC2 as a knowledge partner and the Australian government providing support, the training brought together technical expertise and a strong focus on practical skills. But perhaps the most important part of the event was the way it treated the participants as partners rather than learners. They were not told what to think. They were given tools, asked to explore real problems, and encouraged to come up with their own answers. This approach reflects a deeper truth about digital development: the best solutions come from the people who live with the problems every day. A cybersecurity expert from another country can explain how phishing works, but it takes a young Cambodian who has watched their aunt almost fall for a scam to understand the fear and confusion behind the click. A university lecturer can teach the dangers of deepfakes, but it takes a student who has seen a manipulated video shared among friends to grasp how quickly lies can spread. By giving young people the chance to apply their knowledge in a supportive environment, the workshop helped them see that they are not too young, too inexperienced, or too small to make a difference.
The day ended with a session that connected the participants with representatives from the ICT sector, universities, government, and development organizations. It was a reminder that the work of building a safer digital future does not happen in isolation. It happens through relationships, through mentorships, through partnerships between young people and the institutions that have the power to make change. For the fifty participants, the workshop was not a one-day event to be forgotten. It was a starting point. They left with new skills, new contacts, and a clearer sense of the role they could play in their communities. Some may go on to develop tools that help people spot misinformation. Others may become advocates for better digital policies in their schools or workplaces. Still others may simply become more careful users of technology, and more willing to help a parent, a neighbor, or a friend who is struggling to navigate the online world. In a time when artificial intelligence is changing everything, it is easy to feel powerless. But the young Cambodians who gathered on that September morning chose a different path. They chose to learn, to question, to create, and to care. That is the kind of human response that no algorithm can replicate, and it may be the most important defense against the dangers of the digital age.