Tech Think Tank Deep Dive 2026

Tech Think Tank is a joint initiative by World Childhood Foundation and Telia, bringing together leaders from business, child rights, technology and AI, alongside researchers, law enforcement representatives and entrepreneurs, for a shared conversation on one of the most important questions of our time.

The first Tech Think Tank focused on the wider landscape, emerging trends and what may be around the corner. This next meeting will take the conversation one step further and move into a more focused Deep Dive.

This year’s Deep Dive: Children, families and AI

AI is becoming part of everyday childhood faster than families, schools and societies can adapt. Children increasingly use AI-powered tools for learning, creativity and social interaction, while parents are expected to guide them through technologies they often do not fully understand themselves.

This time, we will focus on the growing knowledge and safety gap around AI and on practical areas where technology and telecom companies can make a tangible difference for children and families.
 

The Deep Dive will open with a welcome from Patrik Hofbauer, President and CEO of Telia Company, followed by an international outlook, with digital contributions from Lloyd Richardson, Director of Technology at the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, John Zoltner, AI and child safety expert, and Iain Drennan, Executive Director of WeProtect Global Alliance, alongside Dr Ekaterina Hertog, Associate Professor of AI and Society at the University of Oxford and expert on AI, digital parenting and family life, Andra Siibak, Professor of Media Studies at the University of Tartu and expert on children and AI, who will join us in the room. 

The session is designed as a forward-looking conversation bringing together leaders from technology, AI, research and child rights to explore the future of childhood and family life in an AI-influenced world.

Expected outcomes

The Deep Dive aims to identify:

• clear opportunities for telecom operators and technology companies to support children and families in the AI era.

• practical ideas for products, services and digital safety solutions

• insights and recommendations that can inform future approaches to AI, childhood and family wellbeing

• opportunities for stronger collaboration across industry, academia and child rights experts

Key outcome: A set of insights, potential actions and collaboration opportunities that can help shape a safer and more empowering AI-influenced future for children and families.

About Tech Think Tank

Tech Think Tank is a closed forum for open dialogue, horizon scanning and conversations that rarely find space in traditional settings.

Our ambition is for the meetings to spark new ideas and insights, create the foundations for new collaborations and, over time, lead to concrete joint initiatives that strengthen the protection of children from sexual abuse and exploitation.

The initiative is developed together with Telia, one of Childhood’s founding partners in 1999 and an important partner in our work to keep children safe ever since. Through Tech Think Tank, we are building on a long-standing collaboration in which children’s safety online has been a central part of our shared work.

We hope you will join us in shaping the next chapter of this forum.