AI + Digital Identity: Why You Still Need Humans

Today’s data driven world has ushered in an era of constant tracking, monitoring, listening and learning. Customers expect businesses to automate their processes for efficient and positive experiences. Products are created to be tailored to individual’s needs and interests. In response, companies are leveraging data – and Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities in particular – to improve customer experiences and make processes more efficient.

AI has quickly transformed every major industry, bringing automation and speed to tasks that normally require human intelligence. A quick scan of headlines shows its reach – from solving a Rubik’s Cube in 1.2 seconds, to advancements that could control a smartphone or computer with just your thoughts.

The Rise of AI in Identity Verification

With identity theft on the rise, businesses are fighting to prevent and deter online frauds and scams. Machine learning and AI are ushering in a new era where identity authentication delivers a smooth experience that doesn’t require users to trade convenience for security. These technologies are increasingly being leveraged for online identity verification to protect consumers and businesses against fraud and account takeover.

AI creates a more efficient and accurate process than relying on a human to examine and verify an ID.  Computer software that is constantly learning and correcting itself can process millions of transactions at a rate unachievable by human experts.

Human Assisted AI: Don’t Extract the Experts

However, IDs are physical documents that endure wear and tear, and may feature manufacturing discrepancies. There are many factors that, if left unobserved, could result in even the strongest algorithms being tested and a genuine ID being flagged as fraudulent. For example, the quality of the camera might not provide high resolution results. Or the image on the ID may be too worn to pass automated inspection. Maybe the lighting is too dim/has shadows, or the image is too blurry and therefore the image cannot be properly identified.

The benefits of AI are best realized alongside a trained professional who can step in if the software rejects a legitimate ID,  apply their expert eye, determine what error occurred and teach the computer how to spot the issue in the future. This allows the learning model to improve through constant input and refinement of data with the oversight of a trusted identity expert.

Acuant has amassed the world’s largest document library of government issued identity documents from over 190 countries. The company combines its deep industry knowledge of country specific ID characteristics and the application of AI to scale and expedite the verification process. This has created the most comprehensive Identity Platform available.

Companies with high risk can rest assured with the Acuant Review^™ which provides human expert manual inspection of identity documents in minutes. Forensic experts manually review and determine document authenticity in real time to ensure the legitimacy of documents flagged by Acuant AssureID^™ suspicious (with the option to review any document or result a company wishes). This marriage of AI and human assisted machine learning results in passing more good IDs/customers (while catching sophisticated fakes) and providing a seamless, low friction customer experience.

To learn more about Acuant’s identity solutions, schedule a demo now: