Advancing Child Protection: Insights from PhD Fellow Mónika Mercz’s AI Research Fellowship at GWU

Mónika Mercz spent the past six months as Hungary Foundation’s Post-Graduate Visiting Research Fellow at The George Washington University’s Competition and Innovation Lab. This fully-funded 10-month research fellowship is part of the Hungary Foundation’s Liberty Bridge Program. The fellowship supports academic research in liberal arts and social sciences at top universities in the United States, filling an important gap in Hungarian academic research in these fields. Mónika is currently working as a visiting researcher at both The GW Competition & Innovation Lab and George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. Mónika’s research revolves around implementing artificial intelligence (AI) into child protection efforts across the globe, with a special focus on the U.S. and the EU’s legal framework. During her fellowship, she has achieved several milestones that could help advance this cause, including organizing and moderating several webinars, and workshops, presenting at conferences, and publishing blog posts, in addition to networking and advocacy efforts together with several experts and organizations.

Advocating for children across the U.S.

Mónika has organized and moderated multiple in-person and online events, in addition to presenting her research findings on several platforms across the U.S. One of her most notable achievements so far has been her participation as a panelist in the A.I. in L.A. Innovation Summit, where she discussed the intersection of artificial intelligence, child protection, the future of work, and present regulatory challenges. This experience allowed her to share her insights with industry leaders, policymakers, and academics. Mónika is also set to present at two more conferences in March, 2025: she will speak on the economic, social and legal perspectives of AI’s implementation into online child safety at Public Choice Society’s 62nd annual meeting. Furthermore, she will be presenting at INTESDA’s 2nd Honolulu Education Conference on how AI can enhance remote learning, thus empowering children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. In addition to her presentations at these conferences, Mónika has also played an integral part in organizing and moderating webinars at The GW Competition and Innovation Lab on The DMA’s Brussels Effect and Comparing different child protection laws within the EU and US in the digital sphere. She has played a vital role in Freedom and Identity in Central Europe’s (FICE) Workshop on Family and identity: how preserving parental rights makes or breaks kids, where she had the opportunity to be a moderator, steering a unique conversation with renowned experts on how the family unit influences identity formation of children, and the legal implications of AI shifting the current landscape. In addition to these events where her research findings could be showcased, she has also aided in organizing other events for The George Washington University, such as The Tech Summit, a Public Lecture on trust-oriented AI governance, and The Milbank-GW Antitrust Salon.

Hungarian roots in America

During the months spent in Washington, D.C. Mónika made it a mission to represent a distinctly Hungarian perspective across multiple U.S.-based communities, build bridges between American and Hungarian experts, and learn from prominent professionals in the United States. Therefore, she attempted to become familiar with as many organizations as possible, participating in events organized at Georgetown University, American University, the Google Public Sector Summit, The American Spectator’s The 56th Annual Robert L. Bartley Gala, Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s 42nd Annual Viennese Waltz Ball, as well as The Federalist Society’s and The Heritage Foundation’s various events related to her research topic. In particular, she had the opportunity to gain insight into key issues of child protection at the Child Safety Summit organized by New York State Children’s Alliance, Crime Victims Assistance Center. Mónika also attended The Leadership Institute’s Youth Leadership School in Denver, where she was a top graduate. This experience allowed her to connect with excellent young professionals from across the United States while gaining important skills required for leadership according to a distinctly American perspective. Mónika was also honored to have the opportunity to present her research findings to a Hungarian American populous in an interview with Ohio-based Bocskai Rádió, as well as an interview for Ildikó Antal-Ferencz’s upcoming book on the Hungarian diaspora. As Mónika moves into the next phase of her fellowship, her aim is to build on these achievements by strengthening collaboration with policymakers and industry leaders to ensure responsible AI governance and continuing her advocacy for enhanced child protection measures in digital environments. Mónika’s Publications so far: