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Jim__

(14,742 posts)
Fri May 23, 2025, 12:43 PM Friday

Unmasking human trafficking: AI reveals hidden recruitment networks

The other side of AI?

From phys.org

Most anti-human trafficking efforts focus on breaking up sex sales. However, new research (behind a paywall - Jim) in the journal Manufacturing & Service Operations Management is turning its attention to where trafficking truly begins—recruitment.

Using machine learning to analyze millions of online ads, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have uncovered patterns that link deceptive job offers to sex trafficking networks. By mapping the connections between recruitment and sales locations, the study reveals a hidden supply chain—one that can now be exposed and interrupted earlier in the trafficking process.

"By combining data science with deep web analysis, we are helping to uncover trafficking networks and provide law enforcement with tools to intervene before exploitation occurs," says Hamsa Bastani of the University of Pennsylvania. "Our research reveals the hidden supply chains of sex trafficking, showing how recruitment often begins with false promises in vulnerable communities."

The study, "Unmasking Human Trafficking Risk in Commercial Sex Supply Chains with Machine Learning," finds that traffickers often lure victims from economically vulnerable areas, such as suburban communities, rather than large cities where most sex sales occur. This surprising discovery shifts the conversation about how trafficking networks operate and where interventions should be focused.

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Unmasking human trafficking: AI reveals hidden recruitment networks (Original Post) Jim__ Friday OP
This is great news! Thanks for posting this, Jim! BComplex Friday #1

BComplex

(9,429 posts)
1. This is great news! Thanks for posting this, Jim!
Fri May 23, 2025, 12:58 PM
Friday

I had no idea this was going on, but I'm so glad to hear it! AI is doing some remarkable stuff.

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