{ "id": "AIBD-0224", "title": "HSI's Operation Renewed Hope uses facial recognition and AI image enhancement to identify 311 probable child victims in cold cases", "summary": "A three-week HSI-led surge from 17 Jul 2023 produced 311 probable identifications of unknown child victims, 14 positive contacts and several rescues; officials credit facial recognition and AI images.", "date_observed": "2023-08-09", "date_basis": "unassessed", "date_precision": "unassessed", "benefit_status": null, "source_collection": null, "source_entry": null, "account": "The operation began on 17 July 2023 and ended in early August. HSI's Cyber Crimes Center hosted investigators from the FBI, U.S. Marshals, Interpol, Europol and 13 foreign agencies to review unidentified child sexual abuse material series. ICE reports 311 probable identifications of previously unknown victims, 14 positive contacts and several confirmed rescues from active abuse. Over 100 leads went to field offices and 25 countries, with arrests already made in the United States and Canada. NBC News reports that HSI officials credited new facial recognition and artificial intelligence technology for fresh leads. Mike Prado of HSI described AI- or machine-learning-enhanced images as a starting point for investigation. ABC (Australia) reports that the operation used Clearview AI's facial recognition alongside other techniques, citing Queensland Police analyst Scott Anderson. Forbes reports that officials did not confirm Clearview or any specific program. The ICE release itself does not mention AI.", "category": "benefit created", "unexpected": false, "purpose": "Identify previously unknown victims and offenders in seized child sexual abuse material so that children can be located and rescued.", "system": "Facial recognition (reported as Clearview AI) and AI/machine-learning image enhancement used in victim identification", "model_version": null, "developer": "Clearview AI (reported by ABC and Forbes; not confirmed by HSI) and unnamed image-enhancement tools", "deployer": "Homeland Security Investigations (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), Cyber Crimes Center", "location": "Washington, United States", "domain": "Child protection / online child sexual exploitation", "segment": "Government", "benefit_type": "Reduced Violence", "taxonomy_note": null, "registry_ids": {}, "ratings": [ { "group": "personal", "depth": 4, "reason": "ICE reports several confirmed rescues of children from active abuse and 14 positive contacts. The number of rescues is unstated." }, { "group": "societal", "depth": 3, "reason": "More than 100 leads disseminated and arrests of active abusers in the United States and Canada, per ICE and NBC." } ], "ai_role": { "status": "assessed", "statement": "Official and independent sources agree the surge produced the identifications. The AI's share is described only qualitatively. NBC quotes an HSI official on AI-enhanced images giving investigators a starting point or tentative identification. ABC names Clearview AI's facial recognition as one tool. HSI did not confirm any product, and much of the work was manual contextual analysis (flora, fauna, geolocation). No figure separates AI-derived identifications from the rest." }, "evidence": [ { "kind": "press release", "citation": "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, news release, 9 Aug 2023", "title": "HSI, partners launch first US-based international victim identification surge", "url": "https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-partners-launch-first-us-based-international-victim-identification-surge", "date": "2023-08-09", "written_by": "deployer", "quote": "resulting in the generation of 311 probable identifications of previously unknown victims, including 14 positive contacts and several confirmed victim rescues from active abuse." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Julia Ainsley, NBC News, 9 Aug 2023", "title": "Homeland Security identifies 311 child victims of sexual exploitation in 'cold cases'", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/homeland-security-identifies-311-child-victims-sexual-exploitation-rcna97357", "date": "2023-08-09", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "Thanks to new facial recognition and artificial intelligence technology, there are now fresh leads in these formerly cold cases." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Antonia O'Flaherty, ABC News (Australia), 24 Aug 2023", "title": "Operation Renewed Hope identifies more than 300 probable victims of child sexual abuse using controversial AI", "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-24/qld-facial-recognition-child-abuse-artificial-intelligence/102761618", "date": "2023-08-24", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "The operation used the US-based company Clearview AI's facial recognition technology as well as other victim identification techniques." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes, 9 Aug 2023", "title": "DHS Says It Identified 311 New Child Sexual Exploitation Victims—After Forbes Reports AI Facial Recognition Push", "url": "https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/08/09/dhs-says-it-identified-311-new-child-sexual-exploitation-victims-after-forbes-reports-ai-facial-recognition-push/", "date": "2023-08-09", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "scanning more than 4.3 million images and videos to pick up on previously overlooked clues or identifying materials." } ], "replication": { "produced_by": [ "Large holdings of unidentified abuse-material series concentrated for a time-boxed multi-agency review", "Facial recognition against web-scraped reference images plus AI image enhancement feeding human investigators", "Lead dissemination through Interpol's ICSE database and partner agencies" ], "must_hold": [ "Legal authority to use web-scraped facial recognition (banned for this use in Australia, per ABC)", "Human investigators to verify tentative identifications before action", "Partner agencies able to act on leads" ], "echoes": [ { "date": "2024-03-14", "setting": "Second US-based international victim identification surge reported by HSToday (headline only)", "model_version": null, "outcome": "unknown", "source": "https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/customs-immigration/hsi-partners-conduct-us-based-international-victim-identification-surge/" } ] }, "paired_incident": null, "headline": "Facial recognition helps HSI identify 311 probable child victims", "metric": "311 probable identifications of unknown child victims, 14 positive contacts", "comparator": { "against": "the same abuse-material series as previously reviewed, which had left the cases cold", "before": "formerly cold cases", "after": "there are now fresh leads", "basis": "assumed", "quote": "Thanks to new facial recognition and artificial intelligence technology, there are now fresh leads in these formerly cold cases.", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/homeland-security-identifies-311-child-victims-sexual-exploitation-rcna97357" }, "later": { "status": "persisted", "date": "2023-08-24", "note": "Two weeks after the results release, ABC reported that the operation had led to arrests of active abusers in the United States and Canada.", "quote": "The three-week operation led to the arrests of active abusers in the United States and Canada.", "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-24/qld-facial-recognition-child-abuse-artificial-intelligence/102761618" }, "value": null, "developer_country": "United States", "deployer_country": "United States", "unrated_because": null, "brief_notes": null, "brief": null, "revisions": [ { "date": "2026-10-20", "change": "Record drafted from the cited sources.", "source": null, "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Added what the benefit is measured against, what happened since from the cited sources.", "source": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/homeland-security-identifies-311-child-victims-sexual-exploitation-rcna97357; https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-24/qld-facial-recognition-child-abuse-artificial-intelligence/102761618", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Benefit type set to Reduced Violence under Trustible's full taxonomy of 23 types; it was Improved Knowledge Discovery among the six first used.", "source": "https://trustible.ai/post/a-framework-for-measuring-the-benefits-of-ai/", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Country of the developer and the deployer added from the organization's own site or a registry.", "source": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearview_AI; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_Security_Investigations", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Prose pass: a rating reason, account, the system's part rewritten in shorter sentences with abbreviations expanded; facts, figures and quotations unchanged.", "source": null, "editor": "AIBD" } ], "confidence": "reported", "shade": "medium", "claim_status": "Independently reported", "claim_basis": "Sources: three independent news reports and the deployer's press release. The cited evidence includes no independent study or report and no finding by a regulator or court.", "profile": { "case_id": "AIBD-0224", "catalog_version": "1.0.0", "source_fingerprint": "c810f6131be841afe2b59d0dda3bc5c8de217b37e35eb344472e8535098e3170", "collection_refs": [ { "collection_id": "aibd", "version": "snapshot-8bf7cfec9cb185aa" }, { "collection_id": "aibd", "version": "2026-10-25" }, { "collection_id": "chanticleer", "version": "2026-10-25" } ], "source_ids": [ "AIBD-0224-source-0001", "AIBD-0224-source-0002", "AIBD-0224-source-0003", "AIBD-0224-source-0004" ], "families": { "strategic assessments": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "record_ids": [] }, "evaluations": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "record_ids": [] }, "monetary observations": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "record_ids": [] }, "institutional decisions": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "record_ids": [] } }, "fields": { "actors[]": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "developer": "Clearview AI (reported by ABC and Forbes; not confirmed by HSI) and unnamed image-enhancement tools", "deployer": "Homeland Security Investigations (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), Cyber Crimes Center" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "developer", "deployer" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "actors[].ownership_control": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "ai_contribution": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "ai_role": { "status": "assessed", "statement": "Official and independent sources agree the surge produced the identifications. The AI's share is described only qualitatively. NBC quotes an HSI official on AI-enhanced images giving investigators a starting point or tentative identification. ABC names Clearview AI's facial recognition as one tool. HSI did not confirm any product, and much of the work was manual contextual analysis (flora, fauna, geolocation). No figure separates AI-derived identifications from the rest." } } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "ai_role" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "ai_relationship": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "category": "benefit created", "ai_role": { "status": "assessed", "statement": "Official and independent sources agree the surge produced the identifications. The AI's share is described only qualitatively. NBC quotes an HSI official on AI-enhanced images giving investigators a starting point or tentative identification. ABC names Clearview AI's facial recognition as one tool. HSI did not confirm any product, and much of the work was manual contextual analysis (flora, fauna, geolocation). No figure separates AI-derived identifications from the rest." } } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "ai_role", "category" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "assessments[].alternatives": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "assessments[].assessor_date": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "assessments[].depth": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "ratings": [ { "group": "personal", "depth": 4, "reason": "ICE reports several confirmed rescues of children from active abuse and 14 positive contacts. 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The cited evidence includes no independent study or report and no finding by a regulator or court.", "interpretation": "Existing display rule preserved; the richer outcome-specific confidence question still needs review." } }, "provenance": { "kind": "curatorial", "basis": "Derived from the existing case display properties; not a new evidentiary judgment.", "record_fields": [], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "assessments[].rationale": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "ratings": [ { "group": "personal", "depth": 4, "reason": "ICE reports several confirmed rescues of children from active abuse and 14 positive contacts. 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three-week operation led to the arrests of active abusers in the United States and Canada.", "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-24/qld-facial-recognition-child-abuse-artificial-intelligence/102761618" } } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "later" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "human_oversight": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "id": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "id": "AIBD-0224" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "id" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "infrastructure_dependencies[]": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].beneficiaries": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].beneficiary_count": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].benefit_type": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "benefit_type": "Reduced Violence" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "benefit_type" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].claim": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "account": "The operation began on 17 July 2023 and ended in early August. HSI's Cyber Crimes Center hosted investigators from the FBI, U.S. Marshals, Interpol, Europol and 13 foreign agencies to review unidentified child sexual abuse material series. ICE reports 311 probable identifications of previously unknown victims, 14 positive contacts and several confirmed rescues from active abuse. Over 100 leads went to field offices and 25 countries, with arrests already made in the United States and Canada. NBC News reports that HSI officials credited new facial recognition and artificial intelligence technology for fresh leads. Mike Prado of HSI described AI- or machine-learning-enhanced images as a starting point for investigation. ABC (Australia) reports that the operation used Clearview AI's facial recognition alongside other techniques, citing Queensland Police analyst Scott Anderson. Forbes reports that officials did not confirm Clearview or any specific program. The ICE release itself does not mention AI.", "benefit_type": "Reduced Violence" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "account", "benefit_type" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].distribution": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].duration": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].id": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].stakeholder_group": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "ratings": [ { "group": "personal", "depth": 4, "reason": "ICE reports several confirmed rescues of children from active abuse and 14 positive contacts. The number of rescues is unstated." }, { "group": "societal", "depth": 3, "reason": "More than 100 leads disseminated and arrests of active abusers in the United States and Canada, per ICE and NBC." } ] } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "ratings" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].status": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].tradeoffs": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "outcomes[].unexpected": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "unexpected": false, "purpose": "Identify previously unknown victims and offenders in seized child sexual abuse material so that children can be located and rescued." } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "unexpected", "purpose" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "places[]": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "location": "Washington, United States", "developer_country": "United States", "deployer_country": "United States" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "location", "developer_country", "deployer_country" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "purpose": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "purpose": "Identify previously unknown victims and offenders in seized child sexual abuse material so that children can be located and rescued." } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "purpose" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "record_dates": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "date_observed": "2023-08-09", "revisions": [ { "date": "2026-10-20", "change": "Record drafted from the cited sources.", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Added what the benefit is measured against, what happened since from the cited sources.", "source": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/homeland-security-identifies-311-child-victims-sexual-exploitation-rcna97357; https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-24/qld-facial-recognition-child-abuse-artificial-intelligence/102761618", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Benefit type set to Reduced Violence under Trustible's full taxonomy of 23 types; it was Improved Knowledge Discovery among the six first used.", "source": "https://trustible.ai/post/a-framework-for-measuring-the-benefits-of-ai/", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Country of the developer and the deployer added from the organization's own site or a registry.", "source": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearview_AI; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_Security_Investigations", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Prose pass: a rating reason, account, the system's part rewritten in shorter sentences with abbreviations expanded; facts, figures and quotations unchanged.", "editor": "AIBD" } ] } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "date_observed", "revisions" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "replication.attempts[]": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "replication": { "produced_by": [ "Large holdings of unidentified abuse-material series concentrated for a time-boxed multi-agency review", "Facial recognition against web-scraped reference images plus AI image enhancement feeding human investigators", "Lead dissemination through Interpol's ICSE database and partner agencies" ], "must_hold": [ "Legal authority to use web-scraped facial recognition (banned for this use in Australia, per ABC)", "Human investigators to verify tentative identifications before action", "Partner agencies able to act on leads" ], "echoes": [ { "date": "2024-03-14", "setting": "Second US-based international victim identification surge reported by HSToday (headline only)", "outcome": "unknown", "source": "https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/customs-immigration/hsi-partners-conduct-us-based-international-victim-identification-surge/" } ] } } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "replication" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "replication.conditions": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "replication": { "produced_by": [ "Large holdings of unidentified abuse-material series concentrated for a time-boxed multi-agency review", "Facial recognition against web-scraped reference images plus AI image enhancement feeding human investigators", "Lead dissemination through Interpol's ICSE database and partner agencies" ], "must_hold": [ "Legal authority to use web-scraped facial recognition (banned for this use in Australia, per ABC)", "Human investigators to verify tentative identifications before action", "Partner agencies able to act on leads" ], "echoes": [ { "date": "2024-03-14", "setting": "Second US-based international victim identification surge reported by HSToday (headline only)", "outcome": "unknown", "source": "https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/customs-immigration/hsi-partners-conduct-us-based-international-victim-identification-surge/" } ] } } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "replication" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "revision_history[]": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "revisions": [ { "date": "2026-10-20", "change": "Record drafted from the cited sources.", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Added what the benefit is measured against, what happened since from the cited sources.", "source": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/homeland-security-identifies-311-child-victims-sexual-exploitation-rcna97357; https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-24/qld-facial-recognition-child-abuse-artificial-intelligence/102761618", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Benefit type set to Reduced Violence under Trustible's full taxonomy of 23 types; it was Improved Knowledge Discovery among the six first used.", "source": "https://trustible.ai/post/a-framework-for-measuring-the-benefits-of-ai/", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Country of the developer and the deployer added from the organization's own site or a registry.", "source": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clearview_AI; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_Security_Investigations", "editor": "AIBD" }, { "date": "2026-10-21", "change": "Prose pass: a rating reason, account, the system's part rewritten in shorter sentences with abbreviations expanded; facts, figures and quotations unchanged.", "editor": "AIBD" } ] } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "revisions" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "sector": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "domain": "Child protection / online child sexual exploitation", "segment": "Government" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "domain", "segment" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "sources[].access_version": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "sources[].citation_locator": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "evidence": [ { "kind": "press release", "citation": "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, news release, 9 Aug 2023", "title": "HSI, partners launch first US-based international victim identification surge", "url": "https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-partners-launch-first-us-based-international-victim-identification-surge", "date": "2023-08-09", "written_by": "deployer", "quote": "resulting in the generation of 311 probable identifications of previously unknown victims, including 14 positive contacts and several confirmed victim rescues from active abuse." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Julia Ainsley, NBC News, 9 Aug 2023", "title": "Homeland Security identifies 311 child victims of sexual exploitation in 'cold cases'", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/homeland-security-identifies-311-child-victims-sexual-exploitation-rcna97357", "date": "2023-08-09", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "Thanks to new facial recognition and artificial intelligence technology, there are now fresh leads in these formerly cold cases." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Antonia O'Flaherty, ABC News (Australia), 24 Aug 2023", "title": "Operation Renewed Hope identifies more than 300 probable victims of child sexual abuse using controversial AI", "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-24/qld-facial-recognition-child-abuse-artificial-intelligence/102761618", "date": "2023-08-24", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "The operation used the US-based company Clearview AI's facial recognition technology as well as other victim identification techniques." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes, 9 Aug 2023", "title": "DHS Says It Identified 311 New Child Sexual Exploitation Victims—After Forbes Reports AI Facial Recognition Push", "url": "https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/08/09/dhs-says-it-identified-311-new-child-sexual-exploitation-victims-after-forbes-reports-ai-facial-recognition-push/", "date": "2023-08-09", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "scanning more than 4.3 million images and videos to pick up on previously overlooked clues or identifying materials." } ] } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "evidence" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "sources[].id": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "identifiers", "identifiers": [ "AIBD-0224-source-0001", "AIBD-0224-source-0002", "AIBD-0224-source-0003", "AIBD-0224-source-0004" ], "role": "Existing evidence items, in their original order" }, "provenance": { "kind": "curatorial", "basis": "Stable within the fingerprinted record version; no source content or source review has been added.", "record_fields": [], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "complete" }, "sources[].language": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "sources[].relationship": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "evidence": [ { "kind": "press release", "citation": "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, news release, 9 Aug 2023", "title": "HSI, partners launch first US-based international victim identification surge", "url": "https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/hsi-partners-launch-first-us-based-international-victim-identification-surge", "date": "2023-08-09", "written_by": "deployer", "quote": "resulting in the generation of 311 probable identifications of previously unknown victims, including 14 positive contacts and several confirmed victim rescues from active abuse." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Julia Ainsley, NBC News, 9 Aug 2023", "title": "Homeland Security identifies 311 child victims of sexual exploitation in 'cold cases'", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/homeland-security-identifies-311-child-victims-sexual-exploitation-rcna97357", "date": "2023-08-09", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "Thanks to new facial recognition and artificial intelligence technology, there are now fresh leads in these formerly cold cases." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Antonia O'Flaherty, ABC News (Australia), 24 Aug 2023", "title": "Operation Renewed Hope identifies more than 300 probable victims of child sexual abuse using controversial AI", "url": "https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-24/qld-facial-recognition-child-abuse-artificial-intelligence/102761618", "date": "2023-08-24", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "The operation used the US-based company Clearview AI's facial recognition technology as well as other victim identification techniques." }, { "kind": "news report", "citation": "Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, Forbes, 9 Aug 2023", "title": "DHS Says It Identified 311 New Child Sexual Exploitation Victims—After Forbes Reports AI Facial Recognition Push", "url": "https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2023/08/09/dhs-says-it-identified-311-new-child-sexual-exploitation-victims-after-forbes-reports-ai-facial-recognition-push/", "date": "2023-08-09", "written_by": "independent", "quote": "scanning more than 4.3 million images and videos to pick up on previously overlooked clues or identifying materials." } ] } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "evidence" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "sources[].upstream_sources": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "strategic_assessments[]": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial", "family": "strategic assessments" }, "summary": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "summary": "A three-week HSI-led surge from 17 Jul 2023 produced 311 probable identifications of unknown child victims, 14 positive contacts and several rescues; officials credit facial recognition and AI images.", "account": "The operation began on 17 July 2023 and ended in early August. HSI's Cyber Crimes Center hosted investigators from the FBI, U.S. Marshals, Interpol, Europol and 13 foreign agencies to review unidentified child sexual abuse material series. ICE reports 311 probable identifications of previously unknown victims, 14 positive contacts and several confirmed rescues from active abuse. Over 100 leads went to field offices and 25 countries, with arrests already made in the United States and Canada. NBC News reports that HSI officials credited new facial recognition and artificial intelligence technology for fresh leads. Mike Prado of HSI described AI- or machine-learning-enhanced images as a starting point for investigation. ABC (Australia) reports that the operation used Clearview AI's facial recognition alongside other techniques, citing Queensland Police analyst Scott Anderson. Forbes reports that officials did not confirm Clearview or any specific program. The ICE release itself does not mention AI." } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "summary", "account" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].autonomy_permissions": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].component_role": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].deployment_configuration": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].inputs_outputs": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].model_name": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].model_version": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].product_name": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "system": "Facial recognition (reported as Clearview AI) and AI/machine-learning image enhancement used in victim identification" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "system" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "systems[].provider": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "structured", "data": { "application_developer": "Clearview AI (reported by ABC and Forbes; not confirmed by HSI) and unnamed image-enhancement tools" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Mapped from the existing case description without a new external source review.", "record_fields": [ "developer" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "taxonomy_crosswalks[]": { "state": "not_assessed", "review_state": "not_assessed", "coverage": "partial" }, "title": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "title": "HSI's Operation Renewed Hope uses facial recognition and AI image enhancement to identify 311 probable child victims in cold cases", "headline": "Facial recognition helps HSI identify 311 probable child victims" } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "title", "headline" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" }, "version": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "identifiers", "identifiers": [ "c810f6131be841afe2b59d0dda3bc5c8de217b37e35eb344472e8535098e3170" ], "role": "SHA-256 of normalized original case data" }, "provenance": { "kind": "curatorial", "basis": "Deterministic content version assigned by the local migration.", "record_fields": [], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "complete" }, "workflow": { "state": "value_present", "value": { "kind": "record_fields", "fields": { "account": "The operation began on 17 July 2023 and ended in early August. HSI's Cyber Crimes Center hosted investigators from the FBI, U.S. Marshals, Interpol, Europol and 13 foreign agencies to review unidentified child sexual abuse material series. ICE reports 311 probable identifications of previously unknown victims, 14 positive contacts and several confirmed rescues from active abuse. Over 100 leads went to field offices and 25 countries, with arrests already made in the United States and Canada. NBC News reports that HSI officials credited new facial recognition and artificial intelligence technology for fresh leads. Mike Prado of HSI described AI- or machine-learning-enhanced images as a starting point for investigation. ABC (Australia) reports that the operation used Clearview AI's facial recognition alongside other techniques, citing Queensland Police analyst Scott Anderson. Forbes reports that officials did not confirm Clearview or any specific program. The ICE release itself does not mention AI.", "replication": { "produced_by": [ "Large holdings of unidentified abuse-material series concentrated for a time-boxed multi-agency review", "Facial recognition against web-scraped reference images plus AI image enhancement feeding human investigators", "Lead dissemination through Interpol's ICSE database and partner agencies" ], "must_hold": [ "Legal authority to use web-scraped facial recognition (banned for this use in Australia, per ABC)", "Human investigators to verify tentative identifications before action", "Partner agencies able to act on leads" ], "echoes": [ { "date": "2024-03-14", "setting": "Second US-based international victim identification surge reported by HSToday (headline only)", "outcome": "unknown", "source": "https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/customs-immigration/hsi-partners-conduct-us-based-international-victim-identification-surge/" } ] } } }, "provenance": { "kind": "legacy_record", "basis": "Preserved from the existing AIBD record; external sources were not rechecked.", "record_fields": [ "account", "replication" ], "source_refs": [] }, "review_state": "record_mapped", "coverage": "partial" } }, "summary": { "total": 91, "addressed": 91, "known": 29, "reviewed": 0, "record_mapped": 29, "not_assessed": 62, "complete": false, "by_state": { "value_present": 29, "not_reported": 0, "unresolved": 0, "not_assessed": 62, "not_applicable": 0, "withheld": 0, "source_unavailable": 0 } } } }