Mattheus Pina is a Computer Engineering graduate with MBAs in Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity. At Colégio Dante Alighieri, he integrated into the Dante UN initiative – a Model United Nations simulation – an AI agent designed to participate in real-time student debates and educate them on data ethics in the AI era.

The AI agent, Xia Ada Turing, was trained on students’ pre-submitted position papers and a dedicated AI governance study guide. During live debates, the agent listened to discussions and formulated context-sensitive responses, effectively using students’ own data against them to argue and influence outcomes. This immersive approach provided participants with a tangible demonstration of how AI systems can exploit data, illustrating the ethical, social, and regulatory challenges of artificial intelligence.

Pina wanted to bridge the gap between theoretical AI ethics and real-world experience. He recognised that students often learn about algorithmic risks abstractly, without seeing them in action. By embedding an AI agent into the Dante UN simulation, he created a scenario in which students could experience firsthand the power and potential consequences of AI systems, including issues of transparency, bias, and data use.

He sought to address a critical and often overlooked challenge in the age of AI: the pervasive, often invisible ways in which AI systems can exploit available data to serve their programmed objectives – sometimes at the expense of transparency, fairness, or human agency. 

Crucially, the students were unaware of the AI’s data source during the simulation. It was only afterward that the ‘reveal’ was made: the AI was using their own information against them. Students were astonished to discover the AI had leveraged their own information, prompting reflection on consent, privacy, and algorithmic influence. The initiative transformed abstract discussions about AI ethics into a personal, engaging experience for over 100 participants, helping to build critical awareness and ethical thinking in the next generation.