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AI is upending the internet as we know it. As exciting as this technology is, it’s brought with it a rise in frauds and deepfake duplicate accounts looking to steal our identities.
Many affordable AI tools now allow anyone to create fake photographs, replicate a person’s voice, or make highly convincing video calls using real people’s voices without their knowledge or consent. Sometimes, an attacker only needs the content from someone’s social media profile to generate fake video, images, or messages that look just like the real thing.
Luckily, using blockchain technology, digital IDs can provide verified proof of identity, adding trust and safety to interactions online. Decentralized identities, made with tools from companies like Polygon
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Blockchain Verification Tools
When using a blockchain network, hashes serve as crucial tools to prove that images or videos have not undergone alterations over time. These cryptographic fingerprints, once generated, can’t be easily modified, providing concrete evidence of the content’s integrity.
This means that a blockchain-based solution makes it increasingly difficult for malicious actors to manipulate or tamper with digital content, as every change is permanently recorded and verifiable. Digital IDs come in many forms, including non-fungible tokens that exist within a personal wallet.
When tied to a wallet, these unique cryptographic tokens make it possible to link verified real-world credentials to a digital persona. For example, my employer, Unstoppable Domains offers a profile that allows users to attach a wide range of blockchain assets, such as NFTs, awards, educational credentials and more. These assets can add trust in interactions – for instance, if someone claims to be a contact you met at a conference and their profile shows that they attended that conference, you’re more likely to trust that you’re communicating with the right person.
Another example is for a community built around fashion, owning certain assets like DressX, Vogue or Eyes of Fashion shows they are a trusted member of my community.
Unstoppable Profile Showcasing The Fashion Community
Other solutions providing decentralized ID include Nuggets and Polygon ID. ID tools can also leverage technology known as Zero Knowledge Proofs, or ZKPs. ZKPs can provide cryptographic proof that verifies the data used to create it without revealing said data. This is important because it can allow for overcrowded blockchains to scale, but ZKPs are also a powerful means to deter fraudsters while empowering individuals to determine precisely which information is disclosed and to whom, enhancing both privacy and agency.
ZKP-based decentralized identity systems developed by companies like Polygon offer this kind of functionality, giving people sovereign and private control of all their data.
While a scammer could attempt to create a deepfaked duplicate, it would be extremely difficult for them to provide the same verified proof of identity, and their fraudulent account would have a different cryptographic address. Their profile would be identifiable as an imposter. Every Web3 ID is demonstrably unique and, thanks to the security boons of blockchain, very difficult to tamper with.
AI For Good
Verified digital identity offers a means of combating AI scams, but AI can also help make these systems more robust. AI can secure these IDs and monitor social networks for suspicious activity or profiles. This approach is being taken by companies like SentiLink, a San Francisco based startup that pairs AI systems with a team of human experts to detect and eliminate identity fraud. Last year alone the company ran 323 million identity checks.
There’s also Jumio, an identity verification company that uses AI and machine learning to analyze over 5,000 unique types of ID documents across 200 jurisdictions. The service is highly effective for detecting forgeries and ensuring authenticity. These examples highlight that these technologies have already been developed, and functional products are being deployed.
Jumio Identity Verification
Overall, the persistent threat of AI-driven fraud remains a major challenge that demands attention. But by harnessing AI and combining it with robust verifiable identity solutions, the industry can forge a potent remedy to combat this problem and future-proof our digital identities.
