# 2026 Youth AI Forum Brings Philadelphia-Area High School Students to Temple University to Explore AI and Media Literacy 

### **What Should We Believe In the Age of AI?** 

The Korean Cultural Foundation is holding an event in partnership with Temple University, focusing on youth and assessing AI. This free, one-day event will offer hands-on experience for approximately 40-50 local high school students ages 15 and up. The event will take place in the Howard Gittis Student Center on Temple University’s campus, on October 10th, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Students from communities across Greater Philadelphia will have the opportunity to participate in hands-on experiences in artificial intelligence, media literacy, and critical thinking about responsible digital presence.

Rather than simply teaching students how to recognize whether information is AI-generated, the forum aims to focus on a broader mission: "How can we determine whether the information we encounter online is trustworthy?"

Students today, especially high school-aged students, encounter several AI-generated and altered media, amongst other authentic pieces of media. The forum aims to highlight that not all AI-generated content is automatically false, just as not all human-made content is automatically true. Students will learn how to investigate the evidence that digital information presents to them before deciding whether to trust it, utilize it, or share it.

### A Hands on Approach 

This forum is structured as a learning lab so that students have the opportunity to repeatedly practice media literacy in the face of AI, alongside Temple students' mentorship. This environment is expected to be able to help students not just be able to "spot the fake", but to further develop a repeatable evaluation process that can become routine.

Throughout the forum students will participate in a five-round investigation trial. Beginning with students recording their first impressions of the selected media they receive at the start. Through this, they will learn to examine evidence, consider context, investigate sources, evaluate authenticity, and cross-check with other sources.

KCul's 6-Point media verifcation system reminds students to:

- Check for a source (who created it, published it, or first shared it?)
- Find evidence (what evidence supports the claim?)
- DIscover the context (when and where it was created)
- Assess authenticity (is there any sign of altercation to the originality of the media?)
- What is the purpose of the piece (why was it created or shared?)
- Cross-check with other sources (can any independent source corroborate it?)

This specific approach opens up the lens of this lesson beyond identifying whether content is authentic or credible. It demonstrates to students that authenticity is only one element of true and full credibility. KCul highlights this importance by stating, "A real video can carry a false caption. An AI-generated image can transparently be used in legitimate advertising or art. A human-created video can omit context". This idea moves students to be further encouraged to always investigate information found in media before reaching a full conclusion. Moreover, students should recognize when there is not, in fact, enough evidence to make a decision.

[![](https://kleinsites-media.s3.amazonaws.com/sites/53/2026/09/23111011/image-2-1024x305.png)](https://kleinsites-media.s3.amazonaws.com/sites/53/2026/09/23111011/image-2.png)### Temple University Students as Mentors 

Temple students are a key role in not only the forum's partnership with the University, but further in the students progression and information retainment. The high school students will work alongside Temple students, who will act as investigation coaches throughout the day's activities. Instead of providing answers, mentors will solely provide guidance by asking questions that invoke broader ways of thinking and encourage deeper investigation.

This mentorship model will allow high school students to practice research in an independent setting while also having guidance, when needed, from University students in an academic environment. Further, this gives high school students an opportunity to be introduced to college-level inquiry, research, and collaboration.

### From to Forum to the Future 

By the end of the forum students will be expected to be able to demonstrate significant growth in their ability to evaluate and communicate digital information. The goal is for the students to have a newfound possession of practical tools that they can use in their everyday lives- from scrolling through social media during times of leisure to researching for a school project. Participants will be able to identify credibility, distinguish evidence, recognize missing context and unsupported claims, and overall be responsible users of media.

Ultimately, the 2026 Youth AI Forum aims to set young people up with the tools to not only recognize AI-generated content, but to responsibly and skillfully recognize content that is void in any aspect of authenticity. The goal is to help the youth become more informed and thoughtful members of the digital world; to be individuals who are equipped with the ability to verify, reason, question, and make credible decisions about how to move forward.

[![](https://kleinsites-media.s3.amazonaws.com/sites/53/2026/09/22120046/Youth_AI_Forum_2026-3-683x1024.jpg)](https://kleinsites-media.s3.amazonaws.com/sites/53/2026/09/22120046/Youth_AI_Forum_2026-3.jpg)