UNAM expert warns social media and AI increase human trafficking risks

Mario Luis Fuentes Alcalá, head of the Extraordinary Chair on Human Trafficking at UNAM, has warned that the overexposure of young people to social media and artificial intelligence increases their vulnerability to human trafficking. During a lecture at the Permanent Seminar of the Sciences 2026, he explained that the desire for digital recognition and the voluntary sharing of personal information allow third parties and AI tools to identify emotional weaknesses, loneliness, or social vulnerabilities to facilitate recruitment.

Fuentes Alcalá noted that trafficking in Mexico often occurs through deceptive job offers, romantic manipulation, or fraudulent marriage proposals. He emphasized that the crime is not limited to sexual exploitation but also includes forced labor and other forms of indignity. He described trafficking as a structural process of stripping dignity that is fueled by inequality, poverty, and a lack of state protection.

Furthermore, the expert highlighted institutional failures, including a lack of shelters, insufficient social reintegration programs, and inadequate mental health support for survivors. He also noted that the official definition of poverty in Mexico fails to account for the lack of access to a life free of violence, which obscures key risk factors.