Anjana Rajan's guest appearances

Anjana Rajan

Financial Crime Matters

Techtopia with Chitra Ragavan

OwlTail

Kieran talks with Anjana Rajan, chief technology officer for Polaris, about the work the not-for-profit does to fight human trafficking, including having helped more than 30,000 trafficking survivors via its national hotline. In looking ahead, Anjana talks about the need to recreate the Internet to end its use by the powerful to exploit the vulnerable, a reality made only worse by the accelerated digitalization of life in the wake of COVID-19. Anjana says the current debate about Web 3, the next generation of the Internet, offers us all a chance to create a better virtual world or to further the Web’s capacity to be used for exploitation. “As a cryptographer, I largely believe in the potential of Web 3 to help restore economic justice to victims and survivors of human trafficking,” Anjana says, “but as a human trafficking expert, I think Web 3 only offers that possibility, not the guarantee.”

Kieran talks with Anjana Rajan, chief technology officer for Polaris, about the work the not-for-profit does to fight human trafficking, including having helped more than 30,000 trafficking survivors via its national hotline. In looking ahead, Anjana talks about the need to recreate the Internet to end its use by the powerful to exploit the vulnerable, a reality made only worse by the accelerated digitalization of life in the wake of COVID-19. Anjana says the current debate about Web 3, the next generation of the Internet, offers us all a chance to create a better virtual world or to further the Web’s capacity to be used for exploitation. “As a cryptographer, I largely believe in the potential of Web 3 to help restore economic justice to victims and survivors of human trafficking,” Anjana says, “but as a human trafficking expert, I think Web 3 only offers that possibility, not the guarantee.”

Imagining a Better Web 3 World That Protects Human Trafficking Victims, with Anjana Rajan

Jeffrey Epstein never faced the consequences for allegedly trafficking dozens of girls, some as young as age 14, and engaging in sex acts with them. He committed suicide in jail 35 days after he was arrested, avoiding a trial and potentially, half a century in prison for his evil actions. Now, however, more than two years later, at the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse in Lower Manhattan, Epstein’s former lover, and alleged enabler, Ghislaine Maxwell is on trial for aiding and abetting Epstein in satisfying his unmitigated sexual appetite for and exploitation of vulnerable girls. Prosecutors allege that Ghislaine Maxwell was at the heart of the trafficking conspiracy that Epstein was accused of carrying out both in his tony Manhattan townhouse and luxurious Palm Beach estate. Maxwell’s lawyers say that she is simply the proverbial fall guy for Epstein’s actions. The trial is casting a lens on the tragic world of human trafficking and how wealthy powerful people can engage, often over decades, in these crimes and escape seemingly with impunity. My guest this week to talk about the Ghislaine Maxwell trial and what it teaches us about the state of human trafficking and the role of technology is Anjana Rajan, the Chief Technology Officer of Polaris, an NGO leading a data-driven social justice movement to fight human trafficking. My former colleague at Palantir Technologies, Rajan’s expertise is applying cryptography to human rights and national security issues. She’s the former Chief Technology Officer of Callisto, a nonprofit that builds advanced cryptographic technology to combat sexual assault. Rajan has testified before Congress as an expert witness to speak about ways technology can protect survivors and victims of human trafficking. Related Episodes: Techtopia, Ep. 8: How Polaris is Fighting Q-Anon in its Use of Human Trafficking Disinformation Campaigns/Anjana Rajan, CTO, Polaris. Techtopia, Ep. 5: Technology has given women a powerful voice in the alt-right movement / Seyward Darby, Author, Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism.

Jeffrey Epstein never faced the consequences for allegedly trafficking dozens of girls, some as young as age 14, and engaging in sex acts with them. He committed suicide in jail 35 days after he was arrested, avoiding a trial and potentially, half a century in prison for his evil actions. Now, however, more than two years later, at the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse in Lower Manhattan, Epstein’s former lover, and alleged enabler, Ghislaine Maxwell is on trial for aiding and abetting Epstein in satisfying his unmitigated sexual appetite for and exploitation of vulnerable girls. Prosecutors allege that Ghislaine Maxwell was at the heart of the trafficking conspiracy that Epstein was accused of carrying out both in his tony Manhattan townhouse and luxurious Palm Beach estate. Maxwell’s lawyers say that she is simply the proverbial fall guy for Epstein’s actions. The trial is casting a lens on the tragic world of human trafficking and how wealthy powerful people can engage, often over decades, in these crimes and escape seemingly with impunity. My guest this week to talk about the Ghislaine Maxwell trial and what it teaches us about the state of human trafficking and the role of technology is <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/anjanarajan/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Anjana Rajan</a>, the Chief Technology Officer of<a href="https://polarisproject.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Polaris</a>, an NGO leading a data-driven social justice movement to fight human trafficking. My former colleague at Palantir Technologies, Rajan’s expertise is applying cryptography to human rights and national security issues. She’s the former Chief Technology Officer of Callisto, a nonprofit that builds advanced cryptographic technology to combat sexual assault. Rajan has testified before Congress as an expert witness to speak about ways technology can protect survivors and victims of human trafficking. Related Episodes: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtopia-with-chitra-ragavan/id1550979165?i=1000520364710" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Techtopia, Ep. 8: How Polaris is Fighting Q-Anon in its Use of Human Trafficking Disinformation Campaigns/Anjana Rajan, CTO, Polaris</a>. <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtopia-with-chitra-ragavan/id1550979165?i=1000514375788" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Techtopia, Ep. 5: </a><a href="https://goodstory.io/ep-5-technology-has-given-women-a-powerful-voice-in-the-alt-right-movement-seyward-darby-author-sisters-in-hate-american-women-on-the-front-lines-of-white-nationalism/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Technology has given women a powerful voice in the alt-right movement / Seyward Darby, Author, Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism</a><a href="https://goodstory.io/ep-5-technology-has-given-women-a-powerful-voice-in-the-alt-right-movement-seyward-darby-author-sisters-in-hate-american-women-on-the-front-lines-of-white-nationalism/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">.</a>