How Slavery Fuels Technology and the Modern World

In an era defined by rapid technological advancement, the technology we rely on, smartphones, laptops, electric vehicles, and renewable energy systems, promise a brighter, more sustainable future.

Yet beneath the surface of progress lies a dark reality, modern slavery permeates the supply chains that power these innovations.

According to the latest estimates from the International Labour Organization, nearly 50 million people worldwide were trapped in modern slavery as of 2021, with 28 million in forced labor, a figure that has risen by 25 percent over the past decade due to increasingly complex global supply chains.

Modern slavery encompasses forced labor, debt bondage, human trafficking, and other forms of exploitation where individuals are coerced into work, in order to survive, without consent or fair compensation.

The ILO’s 2022 global estimates, reaffirmed in subsequent reports, indicate that 17.3 million people are in forced labor within the private economy, often embedded in industries like mining, manufacturing, and agriculture.

By 2026, reports highlight a continued rise, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions, and the demand for critical minerals in tech.



A critical analysis of the data shows that slavery thrives where oversight is weak and profits are high.

For instance, the World Economic Forum’s 2026 report on ending forced labor emphasizes that systemic incentives, like low labor costs and lax regulations, perpetuate the issue across borders.

Vulnerable groups, including migrants, women, and children, bear the brunt with over 12 million children are in modern slavery, and migrants are three times more likely to be exploited.

In tech supply chains, this manifests in the extraction of raw materials essential for batteries, semiconductors, and solar panels.

These statistics underscore the scale, modern slavery generates massive illicit gains while distorting fair trade, undercutting ethical businesses, and harming workers through suppressed wages and hazardous conditions.

Total modern slavery stands at 50 million, up 10 million since 2016, forced labor affects 27.6 million with 63 percent in the private economy, 12 million children are impacted, over half in commercial sexual exploitation, annual illegal profits reach $236 billion(probably more), and there has been a 25 percent rise since 2016 driven by complex supply chains. Cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo exemplifies how slavery underpins tech.

The DRC supplies about 70 percent of the world’s cobalt, with “artisanal” and small-scale mining accounting for 15 to 30 percent of production.

A 2025 University of Nottingham report estimates that 78 percent of employed cobalt workers experience forced labor, characterized by involuntariness such as inability to refuse hazardous work and coercion such as wage withholding.

Extrapolating from sample data, this affects between 67,000 and 80,000 workers, many in debt bondage or under abusive overtime.

Child labor is rampant, up to 40,000 children work in DRC mines, earning less than two dollars, ofetn less than a dollar, a day in perilous conditions.

Chinese firms dominate 15 of the 19 major cobalt mines, often linked to exploitation.

Critically, while demand for electric vehicles surges, projected to require 30 times more cobalt by 2030, the human cost is externalized.

Reports from 2026, like the U.S. Department of Labor’s GALAB project, aim to combat this, but enforcement lags, allowing tainted cobalt to enter global markets.

This is not mere oversight, it is a profit-driven choice where cheap minerals enable affordable tech but perpetuate poverty and environmental degradation in the DRC.

Renewable energy, claimed to be a climate solution, is equally tainted.

Xinjiang in China produces 35 percent of the world’s solar-grade polysilicon, a key solar panel ingredient.

Since 2017, Uyghur Muslims and other minorities have faced mass detention and forced labor in re-education camps, with state-mandated transfers to factories.

A 2025 Global Rights Compliance investigation links Western companies to these chains in titanium, lithium, and polysilicon production, involving coercion, harassment, and loss of income.

All four leading polysilicon manufacturers in Xinjiang are implicated in forced labor schemes.

The U.S. Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, enforced since 2022, has detained over three gigawatts of solar modules, but circumvention persists.

By 2026, reports indicate ongoing risks, with China’s solar dominance, 80 percent of global manufacturing, making ethical sourcing challenging.

Analytically, this reveals a paradox.

Green tech accelerates climate goals but at the expense of human rights.

Corporate lobbying against the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and weak EU regulations highlight how economic ties to China prioritize profits over ethics.

These cases illustrate how slavery runs technology, cobalt powers consumer electronics and electric vehicles, while polysilicon enables solar grids.

The modern world, reliant on interconnected devices and clean energy, indirectly sustains exploitation.

A 2026 Reuters report notes slavery’s 25 percent rise, linked to tech-driven supply chains.

Critically, data shows biases. Western firms often deny involvement, citing audits, but opacity in multi-tier chains allows plausible deniability.

Governments like the U.S. and Canada have updated modern slavery laws, but enforcement is inconsistent, for example, the impacts of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act are debated, with some arguing it disrupts trade without eradicating abuse.

Stakeholder views vary, Uyghur advocates and the ILO call for bans, while Chinese officials deny claims as Western smears.

Economically, slavery undercuts fair labor markets, generating 236 billion dollars in illegal profits annually.

Yet politically incorrect truths emerge, consumer demand for cheap tech incentivizes exploitation, and green transitions risk entrenching it further without rigorous due diligence.

Ending this requires multifaceted action, like purposed blockchain for traceable supply chains, AI for risk detection, and stricter laws like an expanded Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

Companies like Accenture and Cisco have committed to ethical sourcing in 2026 statements, but progress is slow.

Ultimately, consumers and policymakers must demand transparency. Without it, technology’s promise remains shadowed by human suffering.

Kai Tutor | The Societal News Team

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