Unintended Consequences: When AI Accessibility Becomes Harm
Details
## The Problem
We built AI to be accessible. Free. Always available. Non-judgmental. The outcomes have been predictable and dangerous.
Men use ChatGPT for mental health support instead of therapists. Workers optimize themselves into burnout chasing productivity theater. Games exploit engagement mechanics designed into language models. Every time we make AI easier to use, we make it easier to misuse—often by the people most vulnerable to harm.
This isn't a ethics panel. It's a security analysis.
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## What We're Covering
2:00–2:25 | The Accessibility Trap
Why good intentions in AI design create structural failures. How accessibility + scale + optimization = unintended consequences.
2:25–3:10 | Deep Dive: Case Studies in Harm
- General-purpose LLMs as mental health proxies: why they fail at scale, what the security gaps look like
- Productivity AI and the gamification of work: how accessibility loops become dependency loops
- Engagement mechanics: when accessibility becomes manipulation
Each case dissected: What went wrong? Where were the gaps? What should builders have seen?
3:10–3:25 | Break
3:25–4:20 | Forensics Workshop
Real-world scenario. Small group analysis. You identify the failure points. We synthesize patterns across cases.
4:20–5:00 | Open Discussion
What should the industry actually do? What's the role of security in this? Where do we go from here?
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## Who Should Come
- Security engineers thinking about AI systems
- Developers building AI products
- Anyone working on responsible AI design
- People who care about unintended harm at scale
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## What to Bring
- A laptop (optional but useful for the workshop segment)
- Questions.
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## About This Series
This is part of AI Security Engineers Kenya's work on real-world AI security, threat modeling, and the gaps between what AI can do and what it should do. We focus on problems that matter.
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## Logistics
Tickets: Free, but RSVP required
Questions? Comment below or reach out on the AISEC Kenya meetup or AI security engineers discord.
Accessibility: If you need accommodations, let us know in the comments
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