On Safer Internet Day, we are reminded of the importance of being fully aware of the technology we use and how it shapes our everyday lives. In assembly last week, Mrs Darnton spoke to the Senior School about Artificial Intelligence—the focus of this year’s Safer Internet Day.
She began with a refreshingly honest reflection on her own experiences of distraction through AI, and how its growing presence in society challenges us to consider whether it is a friend or a foe. Central to her message was the idea of attention: how powerful it is, and how deeply we are shaped by whatever we give it to. Mrs Darnton likened our minds to a garden. What we look at, what we scroll through, what we return to when we are bored, tired, or lonely—these are the seeds we choose to water.
We were reminded:
If you water comparison, insecurity grows.
If you water outrage, anxiety grows.
If you water endless noise, clarity struggles to survive.
The internet is not neutral. Some parts of it are genuinely positive—it connects people, educates, and inspires. Yet other parts are deliberately designed to keep us distracted, reactive, and slightly dissatisfied, because that keeps us coming back. During Heads Up week, we are encouraged to be offline wherever we can, creating space to reconnect with ourselves and others.
As young citizens, it is critical that students remain curious and reflective about the ethics of AI and its wider impact on one another. This means using compassion when considering how AI is used and how it may make others feel. Even something intended as a joke can be harmful or upsetting. It also means thinking critically about the information AI provides, and striving to remain authentic in what we think and how we act.
Mrs Darnton concluded with a powerful reassurance, centred on a very small word with a very big impact: help. On Safer Internet Day, and every day, we are here to support one another.