Shaping User-Centered Solutions at SmartNews: Interview with Trust & Safety Business Project Manager Ayu Wages

Part of being outcome-obsessed means listening to our users' voices but getting that feedback to the correct team in an actionable way can be challenging. That’s where people like Ayu Wages come in. A Trust & Safety team member at SmartNews, Ayu provides an essential link between users, engineers, and leadership to ensure our users can easily access the quality information they need.

Balancing Freedom and Safety

For Ayu, the internet has always been more than just a tool—it’s been her playground. Growing up, she connected with people from different backgrounds, exchanged ideas, and shaped her worldview through online communities. But along with the positive interactions, she also witnessed the harmful side of the digital world—issues that have now become global social phenomena.

“I strongly believe in balancing freedom of speech while maintaining a safe and secure online space,” Ayu shares. “There’s no universal law governing online safety, so it’s up to platforms and professionals in this field to develop fair, adaptable policies that keep the internet open yet protected.”

The Challenges of Maintaining Online Safety

The landscape of online safety is constantly evolving, and Ayu sees two major challenges in the field today: the balance between AI and human moderation and the impact on moderators themselves.

“AI is advancing quickly, but there’s no one-size-fits-all approach,” she explains. “Platforms need to adopt AI tools carefully, ensuring they don’t over- or under-moderate content or introduce biases. At the same time, human moderators are still making the majority of difficult content decisions.”

This reliance on human review presents another challenge—balancing accuracy while protecting the mental health of moderators. “Moderation work exposes people to harmful content, which takes a toll. We need to find ways to support them while ensuring policies are enforced effectively,” Ayu emphasizes.

Adapting Roles to Fit Strengths and Interests

Reflecting on her time at SmartNews, Ayu highlights the company’s willingness to let employees redefine their roles based on their strengths and interests when possible.

“Whatever role you have here, it could change depending on your skill sets and interest. Of course, you need to consider the needs of the business, but in my experience, the upper management has always encouraged people to do things that interest them and will bring value to the company. You don’t have to stick exactly to the job description.”

For Ayu, the mission to provide high-quality news is deeply personal. She believes SmartNews plays a critical role in cutting through the noise of the internet to deliver meaningful content to users as it leverages machine learning and ranking models to ensure timely, trustworthy news while balancing lighter content to appeal to diverse users. Her journey exemplifies the company’s commitment to adaptability, collaboration, and the belief that “Nothing Is Someone Else’s Problem.” These values are helping Ayu and her team shape the future of news.

A Culture of Responsibility and Collaboration

Ayu’s current role involves addressing users' feedback and concerns in SmartNews’ U.S. market, focusing on potential issues that might negatively impact the user experience. However, her job is far more than simply collecting feedback. She also needs to make sure it gets to the right people for the job.

“I’m here to represent the voice of the users inside SmartNews. We have subject experts for every area of the features we release with deep knowledge of their area, so my job is to understand what they do and connect the dots to the users’ feedback so we know who to escalate the issues to and how to fix an issue, implement a change, or communicate with the users,” she explains.

This responsiveness and collaboration when addressing user feedback is mission-critical to achieving the company’s mission of delivering the world’s quality information to the people who need it. According to Ayu, it’s also an example of one of the company’s core values: nothing is someone else’s problem.

“When I notice something is wrong or needs to be fixed, people immediately try to find a solution. Or, if they can’t, they help find the person who can or communicate why something can’t be immediately actioned. Without this level of responsibility and communication, I wouldn’t be able to do my job.”

A Vision for a Safer Digital Future

Despite these challenges, Ayu remains passionate about shaping a better, safer internet. For her, Trust and Safety aren’t just about enforcing rules—they’re about creating environments where people can engage freely without the threat of harm.

“My goal is to contribute to a digital world that upholds both freedom and responsibility,” she says. “The internet should remain a space for creativity, connection, and innovation—without compromising user safety.”

As technology continues to evolve, so will the strategies for maintaining trust and safety. With dedicated professionals like Ayu, the future of online spaces looks much more secure.