IBM hub to become powerful tool in fight against trafficking

Tech giant IBM is joining the fight against human trafficking as part of a project designed and developed at its software lab in Dublin. The Irish team worked with UK-based organisation Stop the Traffik on the project, developing artificial intelligence technology that will identify trafficking hotspots. The Traffik Analysis Hub is a secure cloud-based collaborative environment that allows financial institutions, non-government organisations and law enforcement to share data and expertise, helping to predict and disrupt trafficking and slave labour. "We firmly believe that whilst justice process is arresting and prosecuting traffickers is important and whilst was rescuing the people that are in slavery and finding a rehabilitation program for them is also really important," said Neil Giles, director of Stop the Traffik UK. "Neither of those two things actually make a difference to the trade. They just create vacancies for new traffic victims to be recruited. Trafficking essentially is a business in its own right. One solution is creating what Mr Giles describes as "an unfriendly atmosphere" for the growth of human trafficking, a role filled by the new hub. The hub can be used to pinpoint hotspots for trafficking, using data gleaned from several sources such as NGO reports, social media and news articles, and analysed by the system. Using this data, the IBM technology can help identify areas where trafficking is likely to have occurred. "Trafficking is not just about sex work .