About

The N-Light Project is developing an AI-powered tool to identify and analyze patterns of child sexual abuse and grooming behaviors by child sexual abuse material from national hotline and child support services. The project leverages state-of-the-art machine learning techniques  to gain insights into the tactics of perpetrators and the methods used to exploit children online. This project has garnered national recognition, winning the University Research Engagement Award in 2023 and being nominated for Best Use of AI in Ireland in 2022. 

Project Goals and Collaboration: N-Light aims to detect hidden patterns in child exploitation and grooming through AI-driven analysis of data from both victim reports and public reports of illegal content. By closely analyzing child sexual abuse material (CSAM)-related communications on public and dark web forums, the project seeks to understand the behaviors and strategies of abusers. 

AI-Driven Insights for Prevention and Policy: The N-Light project is committed to transforming its findings into actionable insights that will directly support child protection efforts. By building a web-based tool for use by hotline and child support agencies, N-Light will provide deep, data-driven insights into abusive behavior and facilitate enhanced case analysis. These insights will be essential for agencies not only in Ireland but potentially across Europe and globally, equipping them with an effective tool to combat this serious threat to children.

The N-Light is funded by the Safe Online Initiative of End Violence and the Tech Coalition through the Tech Coalition Safe Online Research Fund. Key collaborators include Ireland’s national child agency (ISPCC), and Ireland’s national agency for reporting illegal online content (Hotline.ie).