How AI is fuelling human trafficking

Artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more present in our daily lives, shaping the way we work, study and communicate. But this same technology is being exploited by criminals, including human traffickers, to enhance, expand and conceal their criminal activities.

How are human traffickers using artificial intelligence?

Traffickers are using open-source AI tools, including chatbots and virtual agents, to automate recruitment of their victims, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). AI tools can scan social media activity to identify people experiencing financial difficulties or other forms of vulnerability. Traffickers then use those insights to approach potential victims with fake employment opportunities and other misleading offers, making recruitment more targeted and sophisticated.

AI also enables traffickers to overcome language barriers through instant translation, helping them to communicate with and recruit victims across different countries and cultures. In addition, generative AI can create highly convincing content, including realistic messages, fake online profiles and deepfake videos or voice recordings, making deception more difficult to detect.

These technologies allow traffickers to recruit individuals simultaneously in multiple locations, significantly increasing the scale and speed of their operations while reducing costs. AI can also enable traffickers to exploit and control victims remotely, limiting the need for their physical presence where the crime is taking place.

Apart from recruitment and exploitation, AI can support other aspects of criminal operations, including by generating scam scripts, coordinating illicit activities, facilitating the movement of illegal profits or concealing them.  

Why is the use of artificial intelligence a concern?

The use of AI and other digital technologies by criminals makes human trafficking more difficult to detect, investigate and prosecute.

Traffickers can use AI to obscure their identities, monitor perceived threats to their operations, identify potential law enforcement activity and evade detection. For example, criminal groups are able to integrate facial recognition software into closed-circuit television (CCTV) networks and use such systems to monitor the movement of law enforcement or rivals, ensuring they stay one step ahead of responders and competition.

As AI tools become more sophisticated, accessible and affordable – often available at little or no cost – the challenge of bringing perpetrators to justice is likely to grow.

How is artificial intelligence being used to combat human trafficking?

While technology can enable crime, it can also be a powerful tool in the fight against human trafficking.

AI can strengthen prevention efforts by helping awareness campaigns better reach people at risk of human trafficking. Authorities can use AI tools to examine financial transactions data to detect potential human trafficking activities. AI can serve as a valuable tool for law enforcement, helping to improve cooperation across borders. By rapidly processing large volumes of information, it can support international investigations and assist authorities in responses to requests for international mutual legal assistance.

What challenges are countries facing to combat AI-enabled trafficking?

Many countries continue to face significant challenges in responding to AI-enabled human trafficking, including legal gaps, limited institutional capacity and insufficient international cooperation. This includes, for example, the absence of a designated legal responsibility in a jurisdiction for the misuse of AI tools. When it is not clear whether accountability should rest with developers, platform providers or end users, prosecutions often focus on individuals who directly use these technologies, while those higher up the chain of related criminality may remain beyond the reach of the law.

At the same time, law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities frequently lack the technical expertise, training and resources needed to effectively use AI in their responses.

Strengthening the capacity of criminal justice institutions, while conducting robust human rights due diligence, is essential to ensure that AI systems do not reinforce bias, discrimination or other harmful outcomes.

Human oversight remains critical, and AI-assisted decision-making must always be subject to appropriate safeguards to prevent violations of fundamental rights.