EAGER: SaTC-EDU: Improving Cybersecurity Education for Adolescents with Autism Through Automated Augmented Self-Monitoring Applications

社交媒体和在线游戏网站是无处不在的平台，为青少年提供同伴互动和社交发展，但也对健康和安全构成潜在威胁。例如，网络欺凌与青少年的负面心理健康结果有关。因此，解决这些空间中的网络欺凌和网络安全问题对于社会的健康发展至关重要。虽然网络欺凌是所有青少年都关心的问题，但患有自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)的青少年尤其脆弱，成为欺凌和窃取个人数据的受害者的风险更高。这项研究通过创建和使用个性化的虚拟同伴来解决这些问题，这些伙伴与青少年的互动由人工智能(AI)指导。个性化的虚拟伴侣将引导患有自闭症的青少年完善自我保护策略，增加他们的网络技术知识。该项目的目标是帮助这些人培养成为现代、包容和精通技术的劳动力队伍中高效和满意的成员。该项目将通过开发基于深度学习算法的工具来解决患有自闭症的青少年的网络欺凌和网络安全问题，这些工具使用多模式数据，例如面部表情、身体姿势、呼吸频率、皮肤温度、心率、心率变异性、眼睛凝视、言语和发声。融合来自这些不同来源的数据预计将能够创建一个由自主代理居住的虚拟学习环境，其中一些代理有欺凌或侵犯隐私的倾向，其中之一是寻求帮助其人类朋友导航互联网的个性化同伴。人工智能同伴必须在理解人类同伴的外部(语言和非语言)行为和内部压力指标(例如神经感觉)的基础上调整其交互。当与弱势群体的成员合作时，开发人工智能同伴尤其具有挑战性，这些人的面部表情和发声与神经典型青少年的面部表情和发声并不总是匹配。这类研究目前的一个问题是，训练数据集由神经典型受试者填充，因此可能不能代表该项目打算服务的人群，即患有自闭症的青少年。该项目的预期结果是新的深度学习算法，以解决目前为神经典型青少年设计的最先进的多模式面部表情识别算法的缺点。该项目还可以帮助自闭症青少年在面临网络欺凌和侵犯隐私的企图以及其他社交场合时的自我调节。它还应该导致理解这种人工智能干预如何加强个人对技术的知识以及他们对网络安全职业的亲和力。这个项目得到了安全和值得信赖的网络空间(SATC)计划的支持，该计划为解决网络安全和隐私问题的提案提供资金，在这种情况下，特别是网络安全教育。SATC计划与联邦网络安全研究和发展战略计划和国家隐私研究战略保持一致，以保护和维护网络系统日益增长的社会和经济效益，同时确保安全和隐私。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Social media and online gaming sites are ubiquitous platforms that provide peer interaction and social development for adolescents but also pose potential threats to health and safety. For example, cyberbullying has been connected to negative mental health outcomes for adolescents. Addressing cyberbullying and cybersecurity issues in these spaces is therefore essential for healthy social development. While cyberbullying is of concern for all adolescents, adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are especially vulnerable and are at a higher risk of becoming victims of bullying and theft of personal data. This research addresses these issues by creating and employing personalized virtual companions, whose interactions with the adolescent are guided by artificial intelligence (AI). The personalized virtual companion will guide adolescents with ASD to improve their self-protection strategies and increase their cybertechnology knowledge. The goal of the project is to help prepare these individuals to become productive and satisfied members of a modern, inclusive, and technology-savvy workforce.This project will address the problem of cyberbullying and cybersecurity for adolescents with ASD by developing tools based on deep learning algorithms that employ multimodal data, e.g., facial expression, body posture, breathing rate, skin temperature, heart rate, heart rate variability, eye gaze, verbalization, and vocalization. Fusing data from these diverse sources is expected to enable creation of a virtual learning environment that is inhabited by autonomous agents, some of which have bullying or privacy-invading tendencies, and one of which is a personalized companion that seeks to help its human friend navigate the Internet. The AI companion must adapt its interactions based on understanding the external (verbal and nonverbal) behaviors and internal stress indicators (e.g., neurosensory) of its human counterpart. Development of an AI companion is especially challenging when working with members of a vulnerable population whose facial expressions and vocalizations do not always match those of neurotypical adolescents. A current issue with this type of research is that training datasets are populated by neurotypical subjects and thus are potentially not representative of the population this project is intended to serve, adolescents with ASD. The desired outcomes from the project are novel deep learning algorithms to address the shortcomings of the state-of-the-art multimodal Facial Expression Recognition algorithms currently designed for neurotypical adolescents. The project may also aid self-regulation of ASD adolescents when faced with cyberbullying and attempts to invade privacy as well as other social situations. It should also lead to an understanding of how this AI intervention strengthens the individual’s knowledge of technology and their affinity for cybersecurity careers.This project is supported by the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program, which funds proposals that address cybersecurity and privacy, and in this case specifically cybersecurity education. The SaTC program aligns with the Federal Cybersecurity Research and Development Strategic Plan and the National Privacy Research Strategy to protect and preserve the growing social and economic benefits of cyber systems while ensuring security and privacy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.