A program that started as a research thesis at Carnegie Mellon University could help fight sex trafficking and save lives.
Emily Kennedy started the project in 2011, and since then, her team has expanded. Cara Jones, the founder of CMU startup Marinus Analytics, said the company started working on artificial intelligence for facial recognition at that time. Today, inside of an office building off Penn Avenue, the fight to stop human trafficking is happening one picture at a time.
Thanks to the breakthrough software system, law enforcement only needs a photo, then a cloud-based system can search thousands of commercial sex websites looking for facial matches of potential human sex-trafficking victims.
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“If someone is involved in commercial sex industry and law enforcement is looking for a child, they can look in seconds to see if the person is advertised for sex on the internet,” Jones said.
Jones said their system only searches public websites and not private accounts. The company is also making its technology available for law enforcement agencies nationwide.
“Law enforcement today must contend with info online so they need tools to make sense of that information,” Jones said.
Once victims are located, it will be easier for police to track down the people holding them captive. Computer engineers said they’re hoping their breakthrough can find as many victims as possible.
“These crimes are sometimes hidden in society and victims may not ask for help. This is a way to proactively support an anti-human trafficking push,” Jones said.
There is interest in the system on the local, state and national level. Stay with Channel 11 News and WPXI.com for continuing coverage.
Cox Media Group
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