The Emergence of AI in Identity Deception: Why the Reddit Verification Case is Important

AI is changing the rules of the game - are we ready?

This woman does not exist.

This picture was generated by a Reddit user using Stable Diffusion, an AI model that creates images when prompted with text.

By now, we know AI can create fake images, fake videos, fake sounds.
So why is this particular case relevant?

Reddit, similar to various other platforms, implements specific measures to authenticate the identities of its users, aiming to verify that each user is indeed a real person. These verification processes are primarily intended to deter fraudulent activities and bolster overall security. Traditionally, this verification has been done by users submitting a photograph of themselves.

The woman depicted in this image successfully passed Reddit's verification process.

This instance, where an AI-generated image circumvented the verification system, is a striking testament to the rapidly advancing capabilities of AI in digital imagery creation. Although Photoshop is used for some aspects of text integration, the remarkable progression of AI in creating realistic and lifelike images stands at the forefront. The increasing sophistication of AI in creating plausible, lifelike images poses a substantial challenge to the reliability of photo-based identity verification systems, as AI continues to blur the line between real and artificially generated images.

The implications go beyond the borders of Reddit. As the world's economy has become more interconnected and global in scope, financial institutions have increasingly been exposed to a variety of illicit activities by criminal elements. This heightened vulnerability stems from the complex nature of international financial transactions and the sophisticated methods employed by those engaging in illegal practices.

To mitigate this risk, the implementation of Know Your Customer (KYC) standards became crucial. KYC standards ensure that when you open a new bank account, invest in financial products, or start a new relationship with a financial institution, you will be asked to provide detailed personal information, which could include your full name, address, date of birth, and other identification information - specifically a photo of yourself and an identifying document.

AI fooled Captcha in 2017 and has been doing so since then. ChatGPT can even trick humans into solving Captchas for it. Now, AI can bypass KYC too. 

In short, the most significant tool for digital identity authentication is on the brink of failure. As artificial intelligence begins to create illusions that are indiscernible from reality, the very foundation of digital authenticity is the first aspect to be compromised. AI breaching the last frontier of identity verification online is a threat to collective reality. A new age of online scams is already here.

AI is changing the rules of the game, and it is already eroding people’s trust in digital identity.

Are we ready?