On 23 October 2026, DigiBlue welcomed Lucie Mocková for a mini masterclass on responsible AI use in digital storytelling. The session considered how AI can support creativity, what its use costs, and why young people should remain in charge of their own stories.
How can AI help young people tell stories about water and sustainability? When does it add value, and what should creators check before sharing the results? Following Simon Enderby’s masterclass on visual storytelling, this DigiBlue session addressed the choices behind using AI in creative projects.
Lucie brings a background in creative communication, multimedia design and IT product design. Her master’s research examined how children can help shape materials that engage them in local marine biodiversity. Drawing on this experience, she encouraged participants to develop their own ideas, using AI selectively to support the creative process.
Understanding AI and its environmental costs
Lucie introduced how AI learns patterns from data and how generative AI produces content. She highlighted that outputs can contain errors and reproduce biases: an answer that sounds confident still needs checking.
The session also drew attention to the resources behind AI, including electricity and water used by data centres. Lucie encouraged participants to ask whether a task needs AI and whether the benefit justifies the resources used. For visual storytelling, she recommended developing the idea first and considering generated imagery once its purpose is clear.
She also presented examples of AI supporting marine research and protection, from identifying species and habitats to detecting pollution and analysing underwater sounds. These uses prompted a wider question: how can technology help us understand water environments and communicate why they matter?
Develop the story before polishing the visuals
The practical part of the session followed the journey from a local issue to a story concept. Lucie recommended gathering information, writing down questions and sketching possible ideas. A simple six-frame storyboard can help young creators decide what happens, what their audience needs to understand and how the story ends.
AI can help when someone is stuck or support the presentation of a developed idea. Lucie illustrated this with an example of turning children’s drawings into polished characters, keeping their ideas as the starting point.
For educators and youth workers, her advice offers a useful reminder: allow time for research and experimentation. A clear story with simple drawings can be more effective than polished graphics built around an unclear message.
Watch the mini masterclass
The recording below includes Lucie’s full presentation, covering AI basics, environmental costs, examples from marine research and practical guidance for developing water stories.
Lucie also shared questions participants can use when deciding how to work with AI:
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Why? Do I need AI for this task?
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What? What am I asking it to create or decide?
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Who? Whose data, images or knowledge am I using?
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Can I trust the result? Have I checked the output before sharing it?
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What does it cost? Is the benefit worth the resources used?
From the Q&A: authenticity, verification and transparency
In the discussion after the presentation, Piret and Lucie considered the repetitive appearance of some AI-generated content and the value of personal photographs, drawings and human craft. Lucie recommended keeping the storyteller in charge, checking AI-provided facts and figures against other sources, and questioning answers even when they sound certain. She also advised clearly acknowledging AI-generated material and crediting the people whose work has been used, helping audiences understand how a story was created.
Get involved in DigiBlue
The masterclass will form the basis of an additional interactive module in DigiBlue’s free course, Digital Storytelling for Blue Citizenship, helping young people apply these questions to their own projects.
Visit the DigiBlue website to access the free course and join the network. Educators and youth workers can start with a water issue that matters to their group—whether it concerns a river, lake, wetland, coast or ocean—and support young people in researching it, creating a digital story and sharing it with others.