Author: Alicia Galindo, researcher at the Research Group-Thematic Area in Financial Innovation at the Tecnológico de Monterrey Business School.
Technology is transforming the way we do business and manage our personal finances. We live in an era where information and data have created great benefits as well as important challenges in terms of security, especially when talking about personal assets. There are three technological innovations that have become a watershed and are leading the way: artificial intelligence (AI), deepfake and biometrics. In this article I will define how these technologies converge in the business world and how it can directly affect our pockets.
We will start with AI. This has become more than a way to automate processes, and has also been implemented in financial areas, from analyzing data and profiles to personalizing the experience of users and customers. On our personal finances, it has a great effect by having within reach a wide variety of products and services aligned to our personal needs. From virtual assistants to customer service bots, AI is revolutionizing customer service and guaranteeing better experiences for brands and, therefore, for our purchasing decisions.
On the other hand, on the other side of the coin in the development of AI is deepfake, which consists of using AI and machine learning to obtain confidential data and money from companies and users; It consists of the creation of false content through a technique called generative adversarial network (GAN). GAN works best with big data provided, which is why we have seen these types of videos and photos on politicians and celebrities. These videos of big personalities have been used to manipulate societies and financial markets. How does this affect our personal finances? It can definitely influence our purchasing decisions and indirectly benefit and affect the reputation of companies.
According to CONDUSEF, in the first half of 2023, more than 3.5 million claims related to financial fraud were received, which represented a 10% increase in cyber scams compared to the same period in the previous year. 72% of financial users in Mexico do not know what a deepfake is and how to detect it. Based on the above, a recommendation to detect them is to observe, especially in videos, unnatural movements in the eyes, such as the absence of blinking.
Not everything is through videos or photos. The automation of attacks through phishing is an example of how personalization and refinement of social engineering attacks can be used through AI. User behavior patterns are analyzed, especially on social networks, to create deceptive messages that are truly convincing.
Last in the technological triad is biometrics. This ranges from facial recognition to fingerprint. This technology is used for authentication functions and to strengthen data protection in financial transactions. However, this technology also has some negative effects, since privacy in biometric data has also been subject to cyber fraud that has led companies to maintain robust and transparent security measures to mitigate breaches against misuse. An example of the above is identity theft, which through the creation of more convincing false profiles, users fall into the trap because they are more difficult to identify.
Technology has undoubtedly brought improvements to our personal finances, from investment automation, loan optimization, fraud detection and personalized advice to cybersecurity using biometric data. However, it is important that we, as users, know these new technologies and raise awareness in order to address the great challenges of their evolution.
Originally published in El Financiero.