With Life at Stake: AI-Powered Scenarios for Sweden’s At-Risk Youth

Sweden's first municipal AI prevention tool, 'With Life at Stake' uses scenario simulations to help young people navigate gang recruitment, cyberbullying, and peer pressure in a safe, guided setting.

WHEN LECTURES DON'T WORK, EXPERIENCE DOES

Young people today face pressures that traditional prevention methods struggle to address. Gang recruitment, cyberbullying, substance use, school dropout — these are not abstract risks but everyday realities for many. Sundsvall municipality identified a clear gap: existing approaches were too passive, too generic, and too easy to disengage from. Med livet som insats ("With Life at Stake") was built to fill it. Using an AI-powered scenario tool, trained facilitators guide small groups of students through interactive, branching storylines where every decision leads to real consequences, experienced in the moment, in a safe and structured environment.

SWEDEN'S FIRST MUNICIPAL AI TOOL FOR YOUTH PREVENTION

What makes the project genuinely innovative is both its technology and its approach. Built on Sundsvall's open-source Eneo platform, the tool allows new scenarios to be developed quickly as social challenges evolve. Young people never interact with the AI directly — a certified scenario leader controls the session throughout, ensuring safe and responsible use backed by a comprehensive risk assessment. Five scenarios currently cover gang crime, cyberbullying, alcohol and drug pressure, school choices, and absenteeism, tailored to students from year 8 through upper secondary school.

DESIGNED TO SPREAD ACROSS SWEDEN

By shifting from passive information to active, experience-based learning, 'With Life at Stake' meets young people where they are — in schools and youth centres, in groups of up to six, in conversations that feel relevant to their lives. The open-source foundation means other municipalities can adopt and adapt the tool freely, with Sundsvall actively offering a free trial period and sharing source codes with interested partners, demonstrating that responsible, well-designed AI can be a powerful tool for youth safeguarding when placed in the right hands.