Code 8.7: Introduction

The Code 8.7 conference, organized by Delta 8.7, The Alan Turing Institute, the Computing Community Consortium, Tech Against Trafficking, the Rights Lab and the Global Security Initiative at Arizona State University, brought together the artificial intelligence, machine learning, computational science and anti-slavery communities for the first time in February 2019. Over two days, more than 30 speakers and 120 participants discussed how these technologies could be used to help in the fight to eradicate forced labour, modern slavery, human trafficking and child labour in line with Target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The event examined the value of machine learning to the anti-slavery community, how best to combine Big Data and Small Data, the possibilities of information and communications technology (ICT) for survivor self-identification and the roles of satellite remote sensing, crowd-computing and open digital maps to better visualize slavery locations. Throughout the two days of plenary sessions and hothouses, there were conversations around the biases found in data, the need to understand modern slavery prevalence, how to use financial data to identify trafficking and the role of survivors as subjects and researchers.

Below are articles that discuss the conversations and key takeaways from each session written by the rapporteur or discussant. More information about the event, including videos and speaker presentations, can be found on the Code 8.7 page. Download a PDF of the complete symposium from UNU Collections here. 

Find each rapporteur’s overview of each Code 8.7 session below:

Vulnerability Mapping and Modelling

Todd Landman, Rights Lab

Using ICT to Find Hidden Populations

Zoe Trodd, Rights Lab

Mining Government Data to Reach Target 8.7  

Davina Durgana, Walk Free Foundation

Slavery From Space

Hannah Darnton, Tech Against Trafficking

Fintech

Kilian Moote, KnowTheChain

Finding Hidden Populations: Orphanage Trafficking

Paul Jones (The Alan Turing Institute) and Chloe Setter (Lumos Foundation)

Towards a Pipeline – Technology, Techniques and Training

Nadya Bliss, Arizona State University Global Security Initiative

Creating Incentives for Action – Research, Regulation and Rewards

James Cockayne, UN University Centre for Policy Research

Survivor Perspective

Sharlena Powell, Voices of Women

How Can Code 8.7 Advance Collaborative Problem-Solving?

The Code 8.7 Organizing Committee