面向未来：数字安全前瞻的六大支柱

PreparingfortheFuture:ThePillarsofDigital

SafetyForesight

INSIGHTREPORTJUNE2026

Images:GettyImages

Contents

Foreword3

Executivesummary4

Introduction5

1

Driversofchangeinthedigitalenvironment6

1.1AIandautomation7

1.2Syntheticmediaandidentity8

1.3Immersiveandalways-onsensing9

1.4Shiftstoprivate/semi-privatespaces10

1.5Regulatoryevolution11

2

Digitalsafetyforesightpillars12

2.1Frameandgovern13

2.2Sense15

2.3Model17

2.4Assessreadiness19

2.5Installearlywarning21

2.6Synthesize23

2.7Implementationincontext26

3

Responsepathways28

3.1Pathwaymatrix29

Pathway1:

Knownandcovered30

Pathway2:

Novel/uncertaincoverage31

Pathway3:

Notcovered31

Pathway4:

Unpredictable/unknown32

Conclusion34

Contributors35

Endnotes37

Disclaimer

ThisdocumentispublishedbytheWorldEconomicForumasacontributiontoaproject,insightareaorinteraction.

Thefindings,interpretationsandconclusionsexpressedhereinarearesultofacollaborativeprocessfacilitatedandendorsedbytheWorldEconomicForumbutwhoseresultsdonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheWorldEconomicForum,northeentiretyofitsMembers,Partnersorotherstakeholders.

©2026WorldEconomicForum.Allrightsreserved.No

partofthispublicationmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orbyanyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem.

GenerativeAItoolswereusedtosupportaspectsof

draftingand/oranalysis.Alloutputswereindependentlyreviewed,verifiedandapprovedbytheauthors.

PreparingfortheFuture:ThePillarsofDigitalSafetyForesight2

May2026

PreparingfortheFuture:

ThePillarsofDigitalSafetyForesight

Foreword

Inarapidlyshiftingdigitalenvironment,regulators,civilsociety,technologycompaniesandothersareallgrapplingwiththeneednotonlytorespondtotoday’srisksbutalsotoanticipateandpreparetoaddressfutureharms.

Thepurposeofthisinsightreportistoprovide

aclearandpracticalapproachtodigitalsafety

foresightwork.Organizationsalreadyconduct

formsofforesight.Thisreportseekstohelp

movesuchworkbeyondabstractscanningor

speculativediscussiontothecapacitytoanticipate,interpretandactonchangeinspecificcontexts.

Foresight,inthiscontext,isnotaboutpredictingthefuturewithcertainty,butstrengthening

readinessandcreatingthestructures,signals

anddecisionprocessesthatenableinstitutionstorespondmorecoherently.Thissupportsasafety-by-designapproachthatinvestsinriskmitigationatthefrontend,supportingorganizationsto

embeduserprotectionsfromtheget-goandavoidcostlyretrofits.

Thedigitalsafetyforesightpillarspresentedinthis

report–1)Frameandgovern,2)Sense,3)Model,4)Assessreadiness,5)Installearlywarning

and6)Synthesize–structurebestpracticesfor

organizationstoconductforesight.Thesepillars

weredevelopedthroughextensiveconsultationwithpractitionersandexpertsacrossthedigitalsafety

ecosystem.Thereportbuildsonthosepillarsand

outlinesfourresponsepathwaystohelporganizationsdeterminethenextstepsbasedonforesight

outputs–suchastighteningexistingprotections,

testingandlearning,buildingnewsafeguardsandestablishingtripwireswhereuncertaintyremainshigh.

Theuseofforesightindigitalsafetyplaysakeypartinstoppingharmsfromgrowingandspreading.

Asharmscanmoveacrossservices,sectorsandborders,collaborationisessential.Thisreport

continuestoadvancetheGlobalCoalitionfor

DigitalSafety’sgoalofstrengtheningorganizations’preparednessandeffectivenessindigitalsafety

work,whilecontributingtoamorecoordinated,resilientandanticipatorydigitalsafetyecosystem.

PreparingfortheFuture:ThePillarsofDigitalSafetyForesight3

PreparingfortheFuture:ThePillarsofDigitalSafetyForesight4

Executivesummary

Combiningsixpillarsandfourresponsepathways,thisreportprovidesapracticalguidetoforesightinorganizations.

Preparingforshiftsinthedigitalenvironmenthas

alwaysbeencriticalfororganizations,butitis

especiallyurgentnowasnewtechnologies–such

asagenticAI,genAIandtheconvergenceof

wearablesandimmersiveplatforms(VR/AR)–createnewvectorsforharmthatadversariesarequickto

adoptandexploit.Foresighthelpsbusinessteams,particularlytrustandsafetypersonnel,toanticipateemergingharmsbeforetheyscaleandtoplan

responseswiththeexpectationthatsomeharms

willstillsucceed.Organizationsalreadyuseforesightinthisway,butsome,especiallythosewithlimited

capacity,lackadedicatedprocessormechanism.

ThisforesightreportbuildsontheGlobalCoalitionforDigitalSafety’s2023report

ToolkitforDigitalSafety

DesignInterventionsandInnovations:Typologyof

OnlineHarms

andthe2025report

TheIntervention

Journey:ARoadmaptoEffectiveDigitalSafety

Measures

.Theforesightpillarspresentedheredistilbestpracticesfromconsultedorganizationsintosixcoreelementsofdigitalsafetyforesight:

Frameandgovern:Setsthequestion,boundariesanddecisionrights.

Sense:Expandsanorganization’sfieldofviewbeyondwhatisalreadymeasured,

alreadydebatedinternallyoralreadyvisiblethroughday-to-dayoperations.

Model:Turnssignalsofchangeintodecision-relevantexplanationsofhowharmscould

emerge,scaleandadaptintherealworld.

Assessreadiness:Testswhetheran

organizationcancrediblyprevent,detect,respondtoandlearnfromthekindsof

digitalsafetyharmsitmayface.

Installearlywarning:Translatesmodellingintoongoingawarenessandsupporteffortsinensuringreadiness.

Synthesize:Consolidatesoutputsfromtheotherpillarsintoasingle,decision-ready

viewofanemergingharm.

Thepillarsarenotintendedtobeaprescriptive

setofsteps,butratheraguidetotheelements

mostimportantforeffectivedigitalsafetyforesight.Basedontheoutputsofthepillars,thereportalsopresentsfourresponsepathwaystohelporient

organizationsonnextsteps.Thefourpathsare:

1Knownandcovered:Whereorganizationstightenexistingprotections.

2Novel/uncertaincoverage:Whereteamstest,learnanddecidewhetherthe

organization’sposturemustchange.

3Notcovered:Wherenewsafeguardsshouldbebuiltbeforeexposurescales.

4Unpredictable/unknown:Where

tripwires,sentinelsandstrongredresshelporganizationsactcautiously

underuncertainty.

Throughthedigitalsafetyforesightpillarsandresponsepathways,thisreportprovidesa

foundationalstructuredapproachforforesightwithinorganizationsandensuressuchworkmovesbeyondaknowledgeandspeculativeactivitytoamoreaction-orientedprocess.

Introduction

Tocombatpotentialthreatsinafast-developingdigitalworld,organizationswillbenefitfromsharingbestpractices.

Itisnotenoughtoactonlyafter

aharmoccurs

andscales;

organizations

needtospotsignsofchangethat

canresultinnew

vectorsandharms.

Today’sonlineworldischangingconstantly.RapidshiftsinAI,syntheticmedia,privatemessaging

servicesandimmersivedigitalenvironmentsarereshapinghowpeopleinfluence,howtrustis

fosteredandhowquicklyharmfulbehaviourcanspread.Theseshiftswidentheopportunitiesforharms,suchasfraud,coercion,harassment,

grooming,abuse-of-serviceandprivacy-linkedexploitation.Theharmsmayarisethroughvisiblecontentandinterpersonalinteractionbutalso

throughthemisuseofenterprise,cloudand

infrastructureservicesthatareexploitedtoharmthirdparties.Itisnotenoughtoactonlyafter

aharmoccursandscales;organizationsneedtospotsignsofchangethatcanresultinnewvectorsandharms.

Adefiningfeatureofthislandscapeisthat

adversariesarelearningandadaptingacross

ecosystems.Harmisincreasinglydistributed

amongorganizations,whilelow-costautomation

andsyntheticidentityreducethefrictionrequiredtoprobecontrols,impersonatetrustedactors,bypassprotectionsandmanipulatevictims.

Meanwhile,thegovernanceenvironmentis

evolvingalongsidethethreatlandscape,butnotalwaysevenly.Systemic-riskregimes,online

safetyrequirementsandprivacylawsarepushingorganizationstowardsongoingriskmanagementandaccountability,whileAIgovernance,privacyregulationandsector-specificrulesintroduce

overlappingdutiesandchangingexpectations.

Operationalcapacityisuneven:someorganizations

havestrongandmaturetrustandsafety,threatintelligenceandreadinessfunctions,whileothersoperatewithsmallteams,havelimitedvisibility

andmaydeprioritizeforesighttasks.Theresultisanuneven“safetyfloor”,wheresimilarharmscanlookverydifferentdependingonwhereevidenceexists,whohasauthoritytoactandwhattools

anorganizationhas.

Manyexistingapproachesalreadyaddress

safetyriskseffectively,particularlythosetiedtointernalproductchanges,suchasnewfeatures,policyupdatesormodelreleases.Thatinward-lookingperspectiveremainsessential.However,organizationsalsoneedtolookexternallyat

changesoutsidetheirownsystems:shiftsin

technology,regulation,globaleventsorattackertacticscancreatenewrisks.

Thegoalofthisreportisnottointroduceforesightasanovelconcept,buttorecognizeandstrengthenwhatmanyteamsarealreadydoingbysharing

bestpracticesfromorganizationsintheformofsixdigitalsafetyforesightpillars.Italsooffers

fourresponsepathwaystohelpprovidegeneral

directionsfororganizationsbasedontheresultsoftheirforesightprocedure.Thereportdoesnotseektoprescribeasinglecorrectworkfloworassumelarge-teamcapacity,butitdoesseektoreinforcetheneedforforesightworkinorganizations.The

pillarsaredesignedtobeusableandadaptableaccordingtocapacity,includingsuggestingwaystouseAItoreduceworkloadwhilemaintaining

humanaccountability.

PreparingfortheFuture:ThePillarsofDigitalSafetyForesight5

PreparingfortheFuture:ThePillarsofDigitalSafetyForesight6

1

Driversofchangein

thedigitalenvironment

Fivefast-movingareasofdevelopment,includingAIandneurotechnology,posechallenges

forthoseseekingtopromotedigitalsafety.

PreparingfortheFuture:ThePillarsofDigitalSafetyForesight7

Thedigitalenvironmentischangingatan

acceleratingpaceasnewAIcapabilitiesmature,

distributionchannelsfragmentandrecombine,

businessincentivesshiftandregulatory

expectationsevolve.Theresultisnotonlymore

incidentsbutfaster-movingandmoreadaptive

harmpathways–wheretactics,targetsand

surfacescanchangeinamatterofweeks.This

makesforesightincreasinglyimportant,asithelpsteamsidentifyemergingconditionsearly,challengeassumptionsbeforetheyhardenintoblindspots

andprepareproportionateresponsesinadvanceofharmsscalingbeyondmanageableinterventions.

Thedriversbelowdonotconstituteacomprehensivecatalogue;theyhighlightprominentexternalshifts

thatarereshapinghowharmisgenerated,scaled,exploitedandconcealedacrossthewiderdigital

ecosystem.Theissueisnotthatthesetechnologiesareinherentlyharmfulbutthatthesamecapabilitiescreatingvalueforusersandorganizationsalso

alterthesafetysurfaceinwaysthatforesightmustanticipate.Thesedriversarealreadybeingaddressed,butthechallengeisthattheunderlyingconditionsareacceleratingandrecombininginnovelways,creatingnewvectorsandspillovereffectsthatmaynotmatchhistoricpatternsororganizationalassumptions.

1.1

Agentscan

amplifyharassmentandinformation

campaignsby

automatinghigh-volumeabusiveinteractionsandcoordination.

AIandautomation

AIisshiftingfrombeingsolelythediscretefunctionalityofachatbottobecominga

potentgeneral-purposelayerthatmediates

communication,search,creationanddecision-

makingthroughagenticAI.Automationisalso

becomingmoreanthropomorphic,withmodelsnowabletogenerateconvincinglanguageandmedia,

sustainlongconversationsand,throughtooluse,takeactionsacrossdigitalenvironments.Thesecapabilitiesbenefitusersandorganizations,buttheyalsoreducethecostandeaseofinfluencing

users,committingfraudandabuse,enablingadversariestooperatewithgreaterspeed,scaleandplausibilitythanearlier“bot”eras.

Parasocial/AIrelationships

Conversationalsystemsareincreasinglyusedas

socialpartners,fromcompanions,coachesand

role-playcharacterstoalways-availableconfidants.Formanyusers,thesesystemscanprovide

companionship,studyassistance,emotional

support,accessibilityandlow-frictionhelpattimeswhenhumansupportisunavailable.Surveywork

suggeststhatthisisalreadymainstreamamong

teenagers.CommonSenseMediareportsthata

majorityofUSteenagershavetriedAIcompanions,1andPewResearchCenterfindswidespreadchatbotuseamongteenagers,withmanyreportingdaily

interaction.2ThesafetyshiftisnotonlythatpeopleinteractwithAIbutthattheyformpatternsoftrustanddisclosurewithsystemsthatcanmirrortone,

rememberdetailsandadapttoemotionalcues.It

isnotjustAI;onlinepersonalitiesareincreasingly

fostering(intentionallyornot)parasocialrelationshipsbysharingfrequentpersonalupdates,speaking

directlytoaudiencesandbuildingcommunity.Theresultcanbebondsthatfeelfriendship-likethroughperceivedintimacyandauthenticity.3

Theserelationshipdynamicscreatenewvectorsformanipulationandgrooming.Adversariescandeploysyntheticcompanionsorconversationalpersonastocultivaterapportatscale,learningpersonaldetailsovertime,testingboundariesandnudgingbehaviour

incrementally.Becauseinteractionisprivateand

persistent,manipulationcanlooklikecare,with

promptsthatnormalizeriskybehaviour,encouragesecrecy,redirectusersoff-platformorharvest

sensitivedisclosuresforlatercoercion.Harmsoftenappearasgradualdependencyorescalationratherthanasinglepolicy-violatingmessage,making

detection,reportingandredressmoredifficult.

AIagents

AmajortechnologicalshiftistheriseofAIsystemsthatcanplanandexecutetasksratherthansimplyrespondingtoprompts.Browserandcomputer-useagentscannavigateinterfaces,clickbuttonsand

completemultistepworkflowsinenvironmentsbuiltforhumans.4Thisaffectsdigitalsafetybecause

itlowersthebarrierforautomationtoparticipate

whereverhumansparticipateinsupporting

channels,marketplaces,onboardingflows,

developerportalsandinternalenterprisetools

withoutneedingprivilegedapplicationprogramminginterface(API)access.Inlegitimateuse,these

agentscanreduceoperationalburden,improve

accessibilityandhelpusersandworkerscompletecomplexdigitaltasksmoreefficiently.

Foradversaries,agenticautomationexpandsbothitsscaleandattacksurfacearea.Agentscanregisteraccounts,probefrictionpoints,generateconvincingsupportticketsorrunsocialengineeringcampaignsthatadaptbasedonliveresponses.Userinterface(UI)agentscandramaticallyscaleinauthenticparticipationthaterodestrustinwhatappearspopularand

legitimate,aneffectlongassociatedwithsocialbots,butpotentiallyeasiertoexecuteacrossmanyserviceswithagents.Agentscanamplifyharassmentand

informationcampaignsbyautomatinghigh-volumeabusiveinteractionsandcoordination.5

Agenticautomationalsoacceleratesinfrastructure-levelabuse,asagentscanprogrammaticallyprovisioncloudresources,registerdomains,deployphishingormalware-deliveryinfrastructureandcyclethroughaccountsandIPaddressesfasterthanmanual

PreparingfortheFuture:ThePillarsofDigitalSafetyForesight8

abuseoperations.6Theyalsointroducenewattackclasses:whenagentsconsumeuntrustedcontent,theycanbemanipulatedthroughpromptinjectionandrelatedtechniques,redirectingbehaviouror

extractingdata.Ithasbeennotedthatprompt

injectionisapersistentriskforweb-basedagentsoperatingonopencontent.7Thisshiftssomesafetyworkfromcontentmoderationtowardsexecutioncontrols,suchasleast-privilegetoolaccess,auditlogs,transactionconfirmationandtheabilitytohaltorrollbackactionswhenbehaviourdeviates.

AIandtheinformationlayer

FoundationmodelsandAIassistantsarebecominganinterfacelayerforinformationastheysummarize,recommendandanswerquestionsinasingle

conversationalflow.Thiscancreaterealvalueby

loweringsearchfriction,speedingsynthesisand

helpingusersnavigatelargeorcomplexinformation

environments.Publicadoptionisrisingquickly,

includingusefornewsandcurrentaffairs.8The

riskisnotonlyhallucination,butauthority:whenanassistantpresentsaconfidentsynthesis,usersmaybelesslikelytoinspectsources,anderrorscanpropagatethroughreposts,screenshotsanddownstreamdecisions.

Thischangesthedynamicsbecausepersuasion

becomescheaperandmoretargeted.Attackerscangeneratetailorednarratives,testvariantsfor

maximumengagementandfloodinformation

spaceswithevidence-denseargumentsthat

arepersuasivebutunreliable.Inorganizational

settings,assistantsalsocreatenewdataflows,

suchaspromptsandinteractionlogsthatcan

includesensitiveinformation,andadversariesmaydeliberatelybaitsystemsintorevealingconfidentialinformationorgeneratingharmfulguidance.SafetyteamsthereforeneedtotrackhowAIsystems

changebothuserbehaviourandtheorganization’sattacksurfaceacrossproductsandworkflows.

1.2

Syntheticmediaandidentity

Syntheticmediahasmovedfromspecializedtoolingtoeverydayworkflows.Voicecloning,AIdubbing,text-to-image/videoandreal-timefiltersnowappearwithinconsumerappsandenterpriseproducts.

Thesetoolssupportlegitimateusecases,such

aslocalization,accessibility,creativeproduction

andidentityexpression.However,asthesetools

becomecheaperandeasiertouse,thedefiningshiftforsafetyistheerosionofdefaulttrust:visualand

auditorycuesthatoncecarriedstrongevidentiaryweightnowrequireverificationandcontext.

Syntheticinformationandidentity

Syntheticinformationenablesmorebelievable

fraud,coercionandimpersonation.Financial

regulatorswarnthatdeepfakeaudioandvideoare

beingusedinfraudschemestargetinginstitutionsandcustomers.9Inonewidelyreportedcase,a

firmwastrickedintotransferringroughly$25millionafterfraudstersuseddeepfakevideoandaudioinaconferencesetting.10Theseincidentsillustrate

abroaderpatternofadversariescombiningAI-generatedmediawithcompromiseddata,socialengineeringandrapidpaymentrailstoexploit

momentswhenverificationisweakest.

Harmsalsoextendtoharassmentandabuse.

Researchandindustryreportingconsistentlyfindthataveryhighshareofdeepfakesonlineare

non-consensualsexualcontent,withover90%

ofdeepfakesbeingnon-consensualpornographyandpredominantlytargetingwomenandgirls.11

Syntheticintimateimagescanbeusedfor

humiliation,extortionandcoercion,anddeniabilitycanbeweaponizedbothbyperpetratorsandbythoseseekingtodismisslegitimateevidence.

Identityitselfisbecomingmoresynthetic.GenAI

canproduceconvincingprofiles,documents,voicesamplesandinteractionhistories,enablingsyntheticidentityfraudthatblendsrealandfabricated

datatobypassverification.12Fordigitalservices,

syntheticidentitiescanopenaccounts,evade

bans,infiltratecommunities,abusemarketplaces

andgainaccesstoenterpriseworkflowsthat

assumeahumancounterparty.Overtime,syntheticcontentsaturationcanalsodegradesafetytooling.Researchon“modelcollapse”showsthatrepeatedAImodeltrainingongenerateddatacanerodea

model’sperformanceandedge-casecoveragefirst–preciselytheexamplesneededtodetectnovelabuseandminorityharms.13

Contentprovenanceandauthenticity

Provenancestandardsareemergingtopreservearecordofthecontextinwhichmediawas

createdandmodified.TheCoalitionforContent

ProvenanceandAuthenticity(C2PA)specificationdefinesawaytoattachcryptographicallysigned

contentcredentialstoimages,videoandaudio.14

Majorplatformsandtoolprovidershavebegun

experimentingwiththesesignals,including

commitmentstoattachordisplaycredentialsfor

certainAI-generatedcontent.15Whereimplementedwellandwidely,provenancecansupport

fastertriage,clearerusercontextandstrongeraccountabilityacrossrepostsandsyndication.

However,adoptionisunevenandadversariescanroutearoundcredentialsbystrippingmetadata,

re-recordingcontentorcirculatingthroughchannelsthatdonotpreservesignatures,watermarksor

metadata;theycanalsoattemptspoofingthroughcompromisedkeysorfakeverifiedoverlays.16

Effectiveusethereforedependsonend-to-endpreservationacrosscapture,editing,hostingandviewingplusUIthatisresilienttomanipulation

andclearaboutwhatacredentialdoesanddoesnotguarantee.

1.3

Immersiveandalways-onsensing

Digitalinteractionisbecomingmorecontinuousandsensor-rich.Smartphones,wearablesandambientassistantsmakeiteasiertocommunicateand

transactinrealtime,whileimmersiveinterfacesaddspatialpresenceandmultimodalcues.Theseshiftsexpandthekindsofdatacollected,thecontextsinwhichharmcanoccurandthespeedwithwhich

adversariescanreachtargets.

Alwaysconnectedandrealtime

Always-onconnectivity,whichisnowabaselineconditionofdigitallife,changesthetempoof

harm,with41%ofUSadultsreportingbeing

online“almostconstantly”andhigherintensity

amongyoungeradults.17Constantreachmeans

lesscool-downtime,potentiallymakingusers

lessalertandmorevulnerabletomultipleformsofsocialengineering.Moreover,scamsareescalatingquicklythroughnotificationloops,urgentcalls

andmultichannelpressure,whileenterprise

collaborationtoolscanbeexploitedforhigh-speedcredentialphishingandapprovalfraud.

Sensor-richdevicescanbeexploited,withlocation,

contactsandbehaviouraltracescombinedwith

syntheticmediatocreatetailoredimpersonationandcoercionattempts.AsmoreservicesintegrateAI,thestakesincreasetominimizesensitive

dataexposure.

PreparingfortheFuture:ThePillarsofDigitalSafetyForesight9

PreparingfortheFuture:ThePillarsofDigitalSafetyForesight10

Foradversaries,privateandsemi-

privatespaces

enablehigh-trustmanipulationandlower-riskiteration.

Neurotechnology

Neurotechnologyismovingtowardsconsumer

andworkplaceecosystemsthroughwearables,

neurofeedbackappsandemergingbrain–computerinterfaces.Thesetoolsmaysupportrehabilitation,accessibility,well-beingandnewformsof

human–computerinteraction.TheUnitedNationsEducational,ScientificandCulturalOrganization

(UNESCO)adoptedaRecommendationonthe

EthicsofNeurotechnologyin2025,reflecting

concernthatneuraldatacanrevealhighlysensitiveinformationaboutcognition,emotionandhealth.18Theshiftisthatone’sinnerlifebecomesdata,

increasingtherisksbeyondprivacyintoautonomyandfreedomofthought.

Inhigh-pressureenvironments,neurodatacouldenablecoercivemonitoringanddiscriminatory

decisionsbasedoninferredtraits;inconsumer

contexts,neuraloraffectivesignalscouldbeusedtooptimizepersuasion.Evenwhereorganizationsdonotdeployneurotechdirectly,theymayrelyonvendorsanddeviceecosystemsthatdo,creatingthird-partydependenciesandnewcategoriesofdataexposure.19

Immersiveinterfaces

Immersiveinterfaces(VR/AR/mixedreality)are

increasinglyappearingindailylife,fromlivingroomsforgamingandfitness,throughtoworkplacesforcollaborationandtraining,tocamera-firstappsatconcertsandinshoppingaisles.20Usedwell,theycanimprovetraining,collaboration,accessibility,

entertainmentandcontext-richcommunication.

However,theseinterfaceschangetheharmsurfacebecauseinteractionisembodiedandimmediate.

Spatialaudio,gazeandhandtracking/haptics

canmakeharassmentfeelphysicallyclose,while

syntheticavatarsandvoicefiltersenable