How technology is solving the identity crisis

• Harnessing the power of our identities in a digital world is increasingly important.
• Identity management is ripe for redefinition with technologies like blockchain and tokenization.
• Individual control and choice are key to a secure and inclusive future.

Digital identity underpins everything people do, having replaced physical verification experiences in most areas years ago. Now, there is increasing pressure on private and public sector organizations to keep those identities safe.

To do that, organizations need zero-trust frameworks that use digital identity to make access secure while also making it transparent and easy to use so that everyone can benefit from it. That means redefining identity management.

Shifting ownership to individuals

One way to manage identity information more equitably is to rethink its ownership. Many organizations acquire and keep customer digital identity information, burdening themselves with a liability and security challenge.

Decentralized blockchain technology promises to change this by storing digital identity information securely on a shared ledger. The owner of that ID can then grant access to whomever they choose while setting their own conditions, including the access period.

Other emerging trends also support more individual control, like how US citizens are able to select an X as their gender marker on their US passport application as of April 11. Or LinkedIn's efforts to continuously evolve how people can represent themselves on their platform, recently adding dyslexic thinking as a skill or the option to denote a gap year.

Embracing new identification modalities

As the digital world continues to amplify our ability to express ourselves, digital verification processes should match this.

Tokenization splits digital IDs into modular elements, enabling owners to divulge just the data points they choose. Exchanging less information limits risk for the owner and the user of that identity data.

A data standard called Verifiable Credentials is already advancing this idea. Issued by the same organization that defines standards for the world wide web, it puts individuals in control of their own digital ID, creating secure digital credentials for all aspects of life and work and allowing you to choose what credentials to share with others.

And these ID management and verification techniques will become available to more people. The World Bank estimates that a billion people around the world don't have an official proof of their identity, including one in two women in low-income countries. Through digital innovation, a new identity ecosystem could include them. But as we progress, how does digital identity also serve the nearly three billion still lacking internet access and a digital footprint?

Offering different identity solutions

That's why it's important to give people a choice when identifying themselves, just as they can choose their preferred payment channel. For many, that might be something they are (a biometric solution) rather than something they are issued. This is something that identity verification company AU10TIX has been working on for several years, ensuring that organizations have the back-end intelligence to quickly enroll and verify identities around the world with minimal friction.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as computer vision and machine learning are essential for speed and accuracy, while effective user interface design can eliminate user error and frustration. Automation is also critical in continuously keeping up with changing regulations, societal norms and personal preferences.

ID management vendors and customers are stepping up to the challenge as they reimagine core identity concepts. This includes learning from past mistakes. For example, the IRS had originally planned to use third-party facial recognition for authenticating taxpayers and wanted to make this mandatory but retreated from this plan due to concerns from privacy advocates, taxpayers and lawymakers. And Microsoft had to rethink how to prepare and deploy AI in a public forum when the Tay chatbot shared racist and otherwise offensive tweets after being prodded by a small group of users on Twitter.

Creating value for all

Human ingenuity and technology combine to solve the most difficult problems, and the ID crisis is no exception. Those who get this right will make important contributions that drive the economy forward. McKinsey believes that extending full digital ID coverage could increase GDP by 13%.

With those kinds of gains in our reach, a more inclusive and contextual identity ecosystem is no longer merely an option. It is now a social imperative.

Find out more about how AU10TIX is using technology to shape identity management.

This post was created by Insider Studios with AU10TIX.