PHNOM PENH — Fifty young Cambodians have joined a growing effort to help the public navigate a rapidly changing digital landscape, committing themselves to protecting communities from AI-generated scams, misinformation, and online abuse. The group gathered on September 29 for a one-day workshop organised by the APNIC Foundation and Open Development Cambodia (ODC), bringing together university students, recent graduates, and young professionals who work in technology and related fields. The workshop’s core mission was to find practical ways for Cambodians to recognise AI-generated threats, verify Khmer-language misinformation, and use digital services safely. The event reflected a broader regional concern: as artificial intelligence tools become more accessible, they are being used to create increasingly convincing fake voices, images, and videos, making it harder for ordinary people to tell what is real and what is fabricated. In Cambodia, where mobile internet use has expanded rapidly but digital literacy often lags behind, the risks are especially serious for older citizens and rural residents who may not have the same exposure to online safety practices. The young participants worked in teams to propose responses to some of the most pressing digital problems facing Cambodian communities, with solutions ranging from educational campaigns to practical tools designed for local conditions. Their proposals covered online safety for older and rural residents, ensuring that students with limited internet connectivity can still access learning opportunities, and promoting responsible AI use within universities. In doing so, the workshop underscored a key principle: technology alone is not enough to solve the problems created by technology. Human judgement, community engagement, and culturally appropriate education must go hand in hand with digital innovation.
The workshop also gave participants a grounding in the specific threats that have become common in Cambodia and across the Asia-Pacific region. Discussion sessions covered phishing, account takeovers, deepfakes, and scams that use AI-generated voices or videos to impersonate trusted people. These techniques have become increasingly common as cybercriminals adopt generative AI to lower the cost and increase the scale of their attacks. Participants learned how to protect their own online accounts, including the use of multi-factor authentication, and how to respond properly to a security incident. This hands-on knowledge was intended to be passed on to the broader community, particularly the people who are most vulnerable to fraud. The organisers emphasised that the aim was not just to teach individuals how to defend themselves, but to build a network of young digital ambassadors who can share knowledge with their families, neighbours, and colleagues. Teams were asked to consider the risks and limitations of their proposed solutions, rather than assuming that a clever app or an automated system could solve every problem. This approach reflected the reality of digital development in a country where many users depend on low-cost devices, limited data plans, and social media platforms that are not always well moderated in local languages. By working in small groups, the participants were able to combine their own experiences with technical knowledge, producing ideas that were practical as well as ambitious. The organisers hoped the exercise would create lasting collaborations among the participants, many of whom are likely to become future leaders in Cambodia’s technology sector.
Aftab Siddiqui, the APNIC Foundation’s head of stakeholder relations, highlighted the importance of young people developing an understanding of both the uses and the limits of AI-generated content. He said that building that capability means combining effective use of AI with verification, critical evaluation, and appropriate human oversight. His comments reflect a growing consensus among cybersecurity experts that the arrival of generative AI changes the nature of digital safety. In the past, many online scams were relatively easy to spot because of awkward language, poor grammar, or obvious inconsistencies. Now, AI tools can produce fluent, persuasive messages in Khmer and other languages, complete with realistic images and voices. This makes it much harder for even careful users to distinguish between a legitimate communication and a fake one. For Cambodia, where much of the population communicates through social media platforms like Facebook and Telegram, the threat is amplified by the speed at which messages can be shared. A single convincing deepfake video could spread across the country within hours, causing panic or prompting citizens to share sensitive information. Siddiqui’s emphasis on critical evaluation suggests that the solution is not to reject AI but to treat every piece of online content with a healthy degree of scepticism, especially when it asks for money, personal details, or urgent action. He also stressed that human oversight is essential: automated detection tools can help, but they cannot replace the judgement of trained people who understand local context and cultural cues.
Thy Try, executive director of ODC, noted that digital skills, responsible AI use, and cybersecurity were becoming essential for young Cambodians. He said that young people needed the confidence to help shape how emerging technologies are used in their country. This statement points to a larger issue: Cambodia’s digital economy is growing rapidly, but the country still faces significant gaps in infrastructure, education, and regulatory capacity. Many young Cambodians are eager to take part in the digital transformation, but they often lack access to training and mentorship. Workshops like this one help to fill that gap by offering practical skills and connecting participants with professionals who can support their development. ODC, which has long worked to promote open data and transparent access to information in Cambodia, has made digital safety a priority as the country’s online environment becomes more complex. The organisation understands that misinformation and cybercrime disproportionately affect marginalised communities, and that efforts to promote civic participation must include protection against digital harm. By partnering with the APNIC Foundation, which supports internet infrastructure and cybersecurity capacity building across the Asia-Pacific region, ODC was able to bring international expertise to a local audience. The collaboration between these two organisations is part of a broader pattern: international bodies, national governments, and local civil society groups increasingly recognise that cybersecurity cannot be handled solely by IT departments or law enforcement agencies. It requires the involvement of all sectors of society, including young people who are often the first to adopt new technologies.
The workshop was held under the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity’s Young Professionals and Students programme, which aims to encourage young people to contribute to the development of information and communication technology policy and practice in the region. It was delivered with cybersecurity organisation ISC2 as a knowledge partner, and with support from the Australian government. This institutional backing gave the event a weight and reach that might not have been possible otherwise, allowing the organisers to draw on established best practices in cybersecurity education and to connect with a wider network of experts. According to the organisers, the training aimed to give participants skills they could use in education, work, and daily life. This broad objective was reflected in the diversity of the proposed projects, which were not limited to technical fixes but included public awareness campaigns, mentoring schemes, and recommendations for university policies. The involvement of an international cybersecurity certification body like ISC2 also gave participants an early understanding of the professional standards and ethical responsibilities involved in working in cybersecurity. For many of the students, this was likely their first experience dealing with concepts like incident response, risk assessment, and digital forensics in a structured setting. The Australian government’s support further underlined the regional dimension of the challenge, as countries across the Indo-Pacific face similar threats from foreign and domestic actors seeking to exploit digital vulnerabilities. By investing in youth education, these organisations are taking a long-term view of cybersecurity, recognising that the next generation of professionals will need both technical expertise and a strong sense of social responsibility.
The event ended with a networking session that connected participants with representatives from the ICT sector, universities, government, and development organisations. This final part of the programme was designed to ensure that the ideas developed during the workshop did not remain merely theoretical exercises. Instead, the young participants had a chance to meet potential mentors, employers, and collaborators who could help them turn their proposals into real-world projects. Several speakers emphasised that the ultimate measure of success would be the practical impact of the ideas developed that day: whether they helped an elderly grandmother avoid a scam, enabled a rural student to continue her education, or prompted a university to adopt better policies around AI use. The networking session also highlighted the importance of building an ecosystem of support for young digital leaders in Cambodia. While the enthusiasm and creativity of young people are essential, they cannot succeed in isolation. They need access to funding, legal frameworks that protect privacy and security, and institutional partners who are willing to listen to their ideas. The organisers made clear that this workshop was only the beginning, and that they hoped to maintain relationships with the participants through follow-up activities and regional networks. As Cambodia continues its digital transformation, the country will need more than hardware and software; it will need people who understand the risks of technology and are willing to act as responsible stewards. The fifty young Cambodians who took part in the September 29 workshop are a small but significant step toward that future, demonstrating that the country has a growing pool of talent ready to confront the challenges of the age of artificial intelligence.