How a Team of Volunteers at BBDO, Microsoft, and Law Enforcement Agencies Developed a Game-changing A.I. Tool

Child sex trafficking and exploitation thrive in the darkness.

And with the Internet, it’s easier than ever for predators to go undetected.

In 2018, Street Grace decided to do something radical about it.

In collaboration with BBDO, an award-winning advertising agency, and a team of volunteers at Microsoft, the largest tech company in the world, we began dreaming of a game-changing innovation.

We started placing decoy ads on seedy websites pretending to advertise sex with underage girls. When predators engaged, they were connected with Street Grace volunteers who identified them and directed them to get help.

This initiative was successful but the impact was small.

If we were going to fight a multi-billion dollar industry, we needed to develop a solution that scaled.

A Game-changing Tool

In 2018, BBDO and Street Grace CEO Bob Rodgers had an idea that would change everything.

What if we could leverage the power of AI to disrupt and deter more predators than we ever thought possible? What if we developed a tool that law enforcement agencies around the world could use?

But in order to develop such a tool, we needed help.

Enter, Microsoft.

Every year, the tech giant hosts an event called Hack for Good, where hundreds of employees around the world volunteer their time to create solutions that will empower nonprofits to achieve more.

In 2019, a team of over 100 Microsoft volunteers set out to build Transaction Intercept (TI), a sophisticated piece of technology that would remove the cloak of anonymity from buyers and predators.

A key feature of TI is an AI-powered chatbot named Gracie.

Developed using predator and victim transcripts from ongoing investigations, text chats from students at local universities, and guidance from the CDC, Gracie has the ability to disrupt tens of thousands of conversations using one of hundreds of different personas.

How Transaction Intercept Works

Transaction Intercept posts decoy ads on websites where trafficking frequently takes place.

When predators click on decoy ads offering underage sex, they are sent to a text chat with one of Gracie’s hundreds of distinct adolescent personas.

Once the intent to purchase is confirmed, Gracie communicates to the buyer a strong message of deterrence: Predators are informed that what they are pursuing is a felony in all 50 states, punishable by up to 40 years in prison and $100,000 in fines. Gracie also tells the buyer that their information, including the chat conversation, has been collected in a permanent file for law enforcement.

As a final follow up, Gracie sends a link to recovery resources to the buyer.

The Impact of Transaction Intercept

Transaction Intercept was beta-tested in Georgia, and the results were astounding.

Over 54,000 messages were exchanged, and over 13,000 predators were reported, fueling the single largest, verifiable study on sex trafficking ever.

The tool was quickly rolled out to 25 states and 78 cities, empowering local law enforcement agencies to disrupt more purchasing attempts than ever before.

“Transaction Intercept is the most sophisticated piece of technology being used to fight trafficking and exploitation,” said Peter Hauge , Senior Engineer at Microsoft.

The world took notice.

Transaction Intercept won dozens of awards for its innovation, creativity, and societal impact, including the Cannes Lions, Effies, National Addys, Clios, Webby, and more.

Today, law enforcement agencies across the country use TI for sting operations and actual prosecutions. From Texas to Tennessee, police officers are using this proven, scalable solution to prevent the sexual exploitation of children.

With more funding, capacity, and power, Transaction Intercept could disrupt hundreds of thousands of texts every single minute.

And every conversation we intercept is one less conversation with a real child.

We’ve come so far in just a few years. Imagine what we could do with your help.

Become a monthly partner today and help us scale this game-changing technology.