A new mathematical model enhances the evaluation of AI identification risks, offering a scalable solution to balance technological benefits with privacy protection.
AI tools are increasingly used to track and monitor people both online and in person, but their effectiveness carries significant risks. To address this, computer scientists from the Oxford Internet Institute, Imperial College London, and UCLouvain have developed a new mathematical model designed to help people better understand the dangers of AI and support regulators in safeguarding privacy. Their findings were published in Nature Communications.
This model is the first to offer a solid scientific framework for evaluating identification methods, particularly when handling large-scale data. It can assess the accuracy of techniques like advertising codes and invisible trackers in identifying online users based on minimal information—such as time zones or browser settings—a process known as "browser fingerprinting."
Lead author Dr. Luc Rocher, Senior Research Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute, part of the University of Oxford, said: "We see our method as a new approach to help assess the risk of re-identification in data release, but also to evaluate modern identification techniques in critical, high-risk environments. In places like hospitals, humanitarian aid delivery, or border control, the stakes are incredibly high, and the need for accurate, reliable identification is paramount."
Leveraging Bayesian Statistics for Improved Accuracy
The method draws on the field of Bayesian statistics to learn how identifiable individuals are on a small scale, and extrapolate the accuracy of identification to larger populations up to 10x better than previous heuristics and rules of thumb. This gives the method unique power in assessing how different data identification techniques will perform at scale, in different applications and behavioral settings. This could help explain why some AI identification techniques perform highly accurately when tested in small case studies but then misidentify people in real-world conditions.
The findings are highly timely, given the challenges posed to anonymity and privacy caused by the rapid rise of AI-based identification techniques. For instance, AI tools are being trialed to automatically identify humans from their voice in online banking, their eyes in humanitarian aid delivery, or their face in law enforcement.
According to the researchers, the new method could help organizations to strike a better balance between the benefits of AI technologies and the need to protect people's personal information, making daily interactions with technology safer and more secure. Their testing method allows for the identification of potential weaknesses and areas for improvement before full-scale implementation, which is essential for maintaining safety and accuracy.
A Crucial Tool for Data Protection
Co-author Associate Professor Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye (Data Science Institute, Imperial College, London) said: "Our new scaling law provides, for the first time, a principled mathematical model to evaluate how identification techniques will perform at scale. Understanding the scalability of identification is essential to evaluate the risks posed by these re-identification techniques, including to ensure compliance with modern data protection legislations worldwide."
Dr. Luc Rocher concluded: "We believe that this work forms a crucial step towards the development of principled methods to evaluate the risks posed by ever more advanced AI techniques and the nature of identifiability in human traces online. We expect that this work will be of great help to researchers, data protection officers, ethics committees, and other practitioners aiming to find a balance between sharing data for research and protecting the privacy of patients, participants, and citizens."
Reference: "A scaling law to model the effectiveness of identification techniques" by Luc Rocher, Julien M. Hendrickx and Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye, 9 January 2025, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-55296-6
The work was supported by a grant awarded to Luc Rocher by Royal Society Research Grant RG\R2\232035, the John Fell OUP Research Fund, the UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship [grant MR/Y015711/1], and by the F.R.S.-FNRS. Yves -Alexandre de Montjoye acknowledges funding from the Information Commissioner Office.
News
Stem cell organoids repair heart microvessels in coronary artery disease models
A Stanford University team has shown that vascular organoids derived from human stem cells can repair the heart’s microvessel network in pigs with ischaemic heart disease – a proof-of-concept advancement that could open new therapeutic [...]
Goodbye GP waiting rooms, hello prevention at home
Prevention is suddenly everywhere in NHS reform. The recent £340m community pharmacy deal is moving more services onto the high street. Community Diagnostic Centres are being expanded, and the Neighbourhood Health Framework sets out [...]
Ebola control is weakened by mistrust and cultural insensitivity
Effective response depends on cooperation with communities and frontline workers, writes Zaeem ul Haq The current Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda is exposing dangerous gaps in [...]
Building the Brain Requires Millions of Dangerous DNA Breaks
Scientists discovered that building a healthy brain involves an unexpected step: young neurons routinely break and rapidly repair their own DNA. As the brain develops, newly formed nerve cells must travel through tightly packed tissue [...]
One Tiny Change May Explain How Viruses Jump From Bats to Humans
Scientists found that one tiny genetic change may determine whether a bat virus stays in bats or becomes a human threat. Most infectious disease outbreaks begin when a virus or other pathogen crosses from animals into [...]
Scientists Discover 250+ Genes That Could Lead to New Ways To Prevent Melanoma
The world’s largest study of mole genetics identified hundreds of genes tied to melanoma risk, uncovering potential new drug targets and paving the way for more accurate melanoma screening and prevention. Researchers at QIMR [...]
Breakthrough Diabetes Treatment Reprograms the Immune System
An engineered stem cell therapy reversed new-onset Type 1 diabetes in mice by shifting the immune system away from attacking insulin-producing cells. For more than a century, people with Type 1 diabetes have relied [...]
Taking the world’s temperature: WHO chief spotlights global health emergencies
Taking the world’s temperature on pressing health matters, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus provided the latest on current global challenges - and successes when it comes to international cooperation. “The outbreaks of hantavirus, Ebola and Marburg all show [...]
Scientists Create Tiny “Mini Livers” That Could One Day Replace Liver Transplants
Engineered tissue grafts could help perform key liver functions and benefit thousands of people living with liver failure. The liver is one of the body’s hardest-working organs, carrying out hundreds of vital jobs, from [...]
NanoMedical Brain/Cloud Interface – Explorations and Implications. A new book from Frank Boehm
New book from Frank Boehm, NanoappsMedical Inc Founder: This book explores the future hypothetical possibility that the cerebral cortex of the human brain might be seamlessly, safely, and securely connected with the Cloud via [...]
Scientists Discover Surprising Way To Help the Brain Recover After Stroke
A new study suggests that strengthening the body’s natural circadian rhythms may help the brain recover after stroke, even when treatment begins days after the injury. Every year, millions of people survive a stroke, [...]
Our books now available worldwide!
Online Sellers other than Amazon, Routledge, and IOPP Indigo Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artifcial Intelligence Global Health Care Equivalency In The Age Of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine And Artificial [...]
Younger Generations Are Aging Faster – and It May Be Fueling a Surge in Cancer
Younger generations may be aging biologically faster than those before them, and that shift could help explain rising rates of cancer at younger ages. For decades, cancer was viewed largely as a disease of [...]
Using Cannabis Could Raise Your Stroke Risk by 37%, Massive Study Reveals
Large-scale evidence suggests cannabis, cocaine, and amphetamines may directly raise stroke risk, including in younger adults. As recreational drug use becomes increasingly common, researchers are uncovering evidence that its health consequences may extend far beyond [...]
Could Vitamin C Be the Secret to Keeping Your Brain Younger?
Lower vitamin C levels were linked to reduced brain volume and weaker neural connectivity in older adults, suggesting a potential connection between nutrition and brain health. Could a common vitamin help preserve the brain [...]
This Deadly Disease Was Wiping Out Humans 5,500 Years Ago
A new study suggests plague was already a deadly threat 5,500 years ago, striking small hunter-gatherer communities long before cities and agriculture emerged. For centuries, plague has been remembered as the disease that devastated [...]
