In this special guest feature, Labhesh Patel, CTO & Chief Scientist at Jumio, discusses how big data and digital identity will power businesses in the sharing economy in the future. The article looks at the massive amounts of data being collected from government-issued IDs (driver’s licenses, passports, etc.) and photos individuals take to verify they actually are who they say they are, and how AI and big data analytics can help these companies create a more frictionless experience and build trust that fraudsters are being kept at bay. Trust is the most important currency in the sharing economy, and big data, AI and identity verification will enable companies to retain it. As CTO and Chief Scientist, Labhesh is responsible for driving Jumio’s innovation in the identity verification space with deep learning, computer vision, and augmented intelligence – an alternative conceptualization of artificial intelligence that focuses on AI’s assisted role to enhance human intelligence. He holds a Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering (MSEE) from Stanford University and Bachelor of Technology from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur.
Companies in the sharing economy will have a much harder time building trust with consumers in 2019. In the wake of high-profile security breaches, it’s now more difficult to maintain trust after establishing it. Marriott’s Starwood Hotels breach gave fraudsters access to 500 million accounts, and Equifax 143 million, which has made personal identifiable information readily available for purchase on the dark web.
Given information exposed in 2018 alone, companies who operate digital businesses in the sharing economy need to be more careful now than ever before to ensure individuals receiving or offering a service, such as a ride-share, are who they say they are. Verifying individuals in the onboarding process with identity proofing is emerging as the new viable method. The global sharing economy is predicted to grow to $335 billion by 2025,according to a study by PwC, and companies need to make sure they are keeping their customers safe when enabling face-to-face meetings between strangers, whether it’s grocery deliver or a dating app.
The application of emerging technologies such as biometrics, artificial intelligence and Machine Learning, are providing the level of accuracy and security necessary in the identity authentication process to power the sharing economy and other digital, app-driven businesses.
biometrics is Fueling Smarter and More Accurate Digital Identity Verification
The sharing economy isexpected to grow to 86.5 million users by 2021, up from 66.3 million in 2018. Individuals leave millions of digital signals each day while using electronic devices, which sharing economy apps live on, and companies will now be able to leverage machine learning and AI to analyze the signals and define patterns.
Thanks to Apple’s recent launch of Face ID, biometric facial recognition has become mainstream and it’s easy to understand why. Facial-based biometrics are easy to use and convenient because every human has several unique physical characteristics — such as iris, voice and face — and behavioral characteristics that no one else has.
