Date
3-21-2023
Department
Helms School of Government
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Criminal Justice (PhD)
Chair
Jared Perry
Keywords
Human Trafficking, Sex Trafficking, Labor Trafficking, Transnational Organized Crime (TOC), Dark Web, Dark Net, Spotlight, Traffick Cam, Traffick Jam, Domain Insight Graph (DIG), Quantitative- Comparative Analysis, Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine-learning
Disciplines
Law
Recommended Citation
Graham, Jamie Kay, "The Dark Web and Human Trafficking" (2023). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 4215.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/4215
Abstract
This is a quantitative-comparative analysis that focuses on Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms that assist law enforcement agencies as they combat human trafficking. Human trafficking is a Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) which means it can impact every country in the world, and in doing so, impact every person in the world. AI uses machine-learning capabilities to identify clusters, odd and/or unusual font, words, numbers, and other markers in advertisements that promote the sale of human beings. Human trafficking affects males, females, and children of all ages and can include different types of trafficking such as sex and labor trafficking. By using these AI platforms, law enforcement officers are able to identify and help more human beings than ever before in a quicker timeframe. This quantitative-comparative analysis compared Spotlight, Traffick Jam, Traffick Cam, and Domain Insight Graph (DIG) to determine if these platforms were helping law enforcement. The study revolved around the questions of accuracy, consistency, and effectiveness with each platform and found that the majority of AI platforms led the way to promote better, more efficient platforms by the same companies that learned how changes could assist law enforcement more in the future. While each platform assisted in their own ways, there were deltas in each area that leads to the need for future research in the area of AI and how it can be used to help victims of human trafficking and convict human traffickers more in later years.