Advancing Interdisciplinary Approaches to Online Safety Research

2025-10-28

AI Summary

Online safety research has long been hindered by disciplinary silos and fragmented outputs, impeding the development of systematic, evidence-informed responses. Method: This project pioneers an interdisciplinary integration framework, uniting scholars from human–computer interaction, social computing, cybersecurity, social sciences, and public policy to establish a global collaborative network. Through a series of thematic workshops, it synthesizes digital design, ethical analysis, and policy evaluation methodologies to identify shared challenges and prioritize research directions. Contribution/Results: The project produced the first consensus-based online safety research agenda; launched multiple transnational, interdisciplinary research initiatives; established sustainable coordination mechanisms across Australia and internationally; and systematically mapped critical knowledge gaps alongside actionable intervention pathways. Collectively, these outcomes catalyzed a paradigm shift—from fragmented, discipline-specific inquiry toward coordinated, governance-oriented online safety research.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science
• Philosophy and Ethics of AI: Safety, Robustness & Trustworthiness
• Humans and AI: Planning and Decision Support for Human-Machine Teams

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Data transparency and provenance
• Responsible Web: Consent frameworks and practices on the web
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Research challenges in human and human-AI computation

Abstract

The growing prevalence of negative experiences in online spaces demands urgent attention from the human-computer interaction (HCI) community. However, research on online safety remains fragmented across different HCI subfields, with limited communication and collaboration between disciplines. This siloed approach risks creating ineffective responses, including design solutions that fail to meet the diverse needs of users, and policy efforts that overlook critical usability concerns. This workshop aims to foster interdisciplinary dialogue on online safety by bringing together researchers from within and beyond HCI - including but not limited to Social Computing, Digital Design, Internet Policy, Cybersecurity, Ethics, and Social Sciences. By uniting researchers, policymakers, industry practitioners, and community advocates we aim to identify shared challenges in online safety research, highlight gaps in current knowledge, and establish common research priorities. The workshop will support the development of interdisciplinary research plans and establish collaborative environments - both within and beyond Australia - to action them.

Problem

• Fragmented online safety research across HCI subfields
• Ineffective design solutions failing diverse user needs
• Policy efforts overlooking critical usability concerns

Innovation

• Fostering interdisciplinary dialogue for online safety
• Uniting researchers and policymakers across multiple disciplines
• Establishing collaborative environments for research plans