Artificial intelligence: adressing or distorting the modern slavery challenge?

The often deliberately hidden nature of modern slavery incidents presents a challenge for investors to identify and measure these risks. This challenge is exacerbated by intricate, opaque global supply chain networks and the lack of nuanced, high-quality data. In the face of these challenges, new and promising tools have emerged: the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other new technologies. They could potentially revolutionize the way investors and businesses address modern slavery risks.

To shed light on this topic, CCLA Investment Management, in collaboration with UNU-CPR’s Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking (FAST) initiative4 and the UK Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC),5 hosted a roundtable that brought together a diverse group of 48 investors, business executives, policymakers, tech firms, civil society organizations (CSOs), and researchers, including six speakers to inquire: how might AI enhance the aggregation
and assessment of data on modern slavery risk and on businesses’ anti-modern slavery endeavours?
The discussion6 revealed the challenges that investors and businesses face in assessing modern slavery risks, and explored how stakeholders can harness the capabilities of AI to help them detect and assess these risks. Participants also emphasized that AI brings ethical and legal challenges that require
careful consideration and robust safeguards to protect vulnerable populations at risk.
This investor-focused brief highlights pivotal insights from the roundtable and offers recommendations for investors, policymakers, businesses, tech firms, and researchers regarding AI’s role in addressing modern slavery risks.