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Digital Identity and the Future of Travel

Sep 22, 2024

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#IdentityWeekUSA2024 Takeaways


Walking through the exhibit gallery at #IdentityWeekUSA 2024 reinforced the themes highlighted by the keynote speakers. After #digitalidentity and #biometrics, the most mentioned term was #artificialintelligence.

Key Insights:


  1. How AI-powered digital identity systems have enhanced travel by improving scheduling, security, and process efficiency.

  2. Ways in which these technologies are delivering value across the globe.

  3. Why understanding and adopting these tools is critical for widespread implementation.


To address the last point, vendor-led sessions offered simplified explanations of complex topics such as fraud injections, security breaches, and deep fakes.


What Resonated with Me

Travel is an essential part of life—whether for business or leisure. We often navigate this through airports or other forms of vehicular transport. I recall a personal experience traveling with my teenage sons from Buffalo to Toronto, Ottawa, and Syracuse in a rented car. It was one of those trips where we mixed summer vacation with college visits. Entering Canada was a breeze—courtesy of the sharp-looking Canadian Mounties. However, re-entering the U.S. was a different story. We were pulled aside, questioned, and asked for the car rental papers. After a 30-minute delay, we were finally allowed to proceed.

When I asked why, as legal U.S. citizens, we were held up (especially since all I had was one bottle of ice wine!), I learned they were verifying the legitimacy of the rental car and my temporary ownership.

Two points of breakdown:


  1. Driver’s license verification

  2. Proof of temporary ownership (rental car + driver’s license)


The growing adoption of mobile driver’s licenses (MDL) may help expedite verification processes. By 2026, AAMVA and IDSCAN data should be fully integrated, streamlining the process even further. Improved access to data across rental car systems could leverage NLP technology to make proof of ownership verification faster and more efficient.


Innovative Solutions on the Horizon

During one keynote, Diane J. Sabatino from U.S. Border Security and Customs discussed the rollout of CBP One (TM) - a seamless, ';on-the-move biometric facial verification system designed to offer touchless entry experiences. More interestingly, the system can scan vehicles and detect anomalies in empty trucks.

This technology could have alleviated some of the stress I faced during my travel. I wonder if it would have saved me from declaring my bottle of ice wine? The use of AI for scanning, matching, and detecting irregularities is being fine-tuned by U.S. Customs and has already seen success at the Mariposa, AZ border and is being deployed in the northern border as well. Pretty cool!

Air Travel Advancements

While we often complain about air travel, I was impressed by some of the work Alaska Airlines has been doing. We already know that airlines use AI for scheduling, logistics, and pricing, but Alaska Airlines has gone above and beyond in enhancing the passenger experience:


  • As early adopters of Natural Language Processing (NLP) for online booking, they’ve streamlined the process for customers.

  • Their mobile app has shaved 40% off check-in times by automating luggage verification through connected mobile bag tags.


The use of digital driver’s licenses and facial biometrics is being tested across 73 U.S. airports, allowing passengers to pass through security more seamlessly. Now, if only they could speed up hand-luggage scanning and spare me the trouble of getting stopped for a cup of yogurt! (Seriously, airport food can be unhealthy!)

Global Digital ID Adoption

According to Trinsic.id, there are currently 152 types of digital IDs in use worldwide. Fraud detection approaches are often surprisingly simple, yet highly effective. Their survey identified four key types of ID schemes:


  1. eIDs – Government-led digital identity schemes (e.g., Wallet, Mobile ID, Aadhaar, Nigeria’s NIN).

  2. reIDs – Private sector reusable IDs (e.g., Clear, Airside, Yoti).

  3. BankIDs – Bank-led identity schemes (e.g., OneID, BankID in Norway and Sweden, IDPartner).


The ultimate goal is to create a secure "golden ID" that protects personal PII information. Countries worldwide are refining their processes to achieve this—see the examples above for reference.


Concerns and Challenges

Although #biometrics promises stress-free travel, the growing threat of #deepfakes, latex 3D face masks, #faceswapping, and other injection attacks means constant vigilance is required. AI and advanced technologies like 3D printing have given fraudsters new tools to exploit, making security efforts more challenging.

However, these same technologies are key to identifying and combating fraud. AI’s ability to rapidly learn and adapt enables it to spot subtle anomalies, like unnatural blinking, that indicate identity fraud.


Yet, this is no easy task. It requires time, resources, and ongoing training. Additionally, there are concerns about false positives, evolving tactics by fraudsters, and the ethical considerations of AI’s integration into security measures. A call out to an insightful analysis by Cori Shen (https://corishen.com/outsmarting-aigc-use-ai-to-beat-ai) using AI to beat AI. 


Key Facts to Ponder:


  • The U.S. loses $0.5 trillion annually to fraud.

  • 152 types of digital IDs are in use worldwide.

  • By 2026, an estimated 150 million Americans will adopt mobile driver’s licenses (MDL).

  • 36% of Europe’s adult population uses digital ID.

  • Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands have digital ID adoption rates above 75%.

  • The U.S., Canada, the UK, and Poland have adoption rates under 15%.

  • U.S. Customs, using AI and facial biometrics, caught 2,072 imposters among the 585 million travelers processed with this technology.


#biometrics #digitalidentity #data #AI #deepfakes #MDL #nationalID #fraud



Sep 22, 2024

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