Harnessing the Power of AI to Combat Human Trafficking

With time, we see exponential technologies sky-rising as a potential solution to real-world problems. Just like, human trafficking has become an important issue in all corners of the world. It is a vicious crime that is carried mainly against women and children. The victims are sold and exploited. They are put to labor, with a rare chance of escape. To combat such malevolent activities, the need is to look forward towards a stable solution that helps tighten the reins of criminals.

In this article, we will look at the incidents of human trafficking and how Artificial Intelligence is playing its role to fight back using its state-of-the-art technological solutions and techniques.

According to a pediatrician

‘Kanani Titchen’ the age of recruiting is mostly 15. Most of these kids are runaways from home. They are recruited within 48 hours of running. They can be approached anywhere, at the park, mall, bus stop, or even in school. Some victims even continue going to school throughout the week, seeing their doctors, watching their younger siblings and on the weekends they are trafficked by their pimps/recruiters to work the hotels, and conferences, etc.

Survivor story

Barbara Amaya a trafficked victim shares her story. She ran away at the age of 12, after being abused by her family. She says that traffickers prey upon vulnerability. They know your weak spots. They know what to say to you. They create a bond with victims and program their young minds. Victims feel like sharing a bond with their trafficker. She further tells that they know how to keep the vicious cycle of supply and demand going.

Human Trafficking is a horrific crime known to humanity; preying on young children, selling them, and exploiting them. Large resources are spent by NGOs, Governments, and Law enforcement agencies to prevent and stop this. However, with the advent of AI (Artificial Intelligence), these organizations have benefited a lot in combating Human Trafficking.

Traffic Jam

Traffic Jam’s goal is “to find missing persons, stop human trafficking and fight organized crime”. A tool developed by ‘Marinus Analytics’. It works by sifting through online advertisements, more specifically in ‘hot spots.’ It searches for ‘vulnerability indicators’. These indicators, mean several things that act as red flags. They might include images of subjects who look like children and indications of drug use. With AI sifting through the online databases, detectives can use their resources to track victims down and dismantle the networks. Traffic Jam also observes patterns of trafficking among the data. In 2020, Traffic Jam saved about 70,000 investigative hours.

Traffik Analysis Hub

The flow of money is a key factor in discovering or identifying the traffickers and their locations. Hence, STOP THE TRAFFIK a non-profit organization aimed to end human trafficking worldwide, partnered with IBM into creating an international data hub (TAHub). Traffik Analysis Hub facilitates the sharing of information among different industries and sectors including, NGOs, financial institutions, Government agencies, Law enforcement agencies. Only authenticated personal have access to the hub, who can upload data regarding human trafficking. AI is then used to interpret that data, and transfer it into information that governments can act on. For example, financial organizations can use this information to identify where people are financially benefitting from this activity.

Anti Human Trafficking Intelligence Initiative

In the wake of cooperating with law implementation offices, the not-profit association ATII fostered an application that can be utilized by the victims on their mobile phones. They can scan the QR codes through their phones that are set in the restrooms of exceptionally dubious spots. When the law enforcement gets the information they can circle back to the lead. They can likewise get cell records to verify criminal activity.

Thorn

A tech association established by Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher, Thorn is pointed toward shielding youngsters from sexual exploitation. Their flagship program Spotlight utilizes Amazon’s facial recognition technology to assist with following missing kids, by matching their pictures with online sex advertisements on the dark web.

These apps employ innovative technologies and high-end use-cases that are used in the identification of trafficked victims and traffickers, along with their organizations. But as human beings, it is also our responsibility to educate ourselves and our fellows about the red flags, that we might be neglecting or ignoring around us. Technology is getting stringent with innovative algorithms and processing powers for quick identification and high positive rates.