From Human Assessment to the Role of AI in Border Security

Human beings have always migrated or traveled for various reasons from one place to the other. Both destination and origination countries have a method to know who the person is through a traditional passport which contains the biographical data, a headshot picture and at times some kind of biometrics. Then international standards led by ICAO required more than just the basic documentation. It required a machine-readable zone, security features and other standards to ensure authentication of not only the document but the passport holder. A passport proves that someone possesses documents though facial biometrics verify that the traveler is the legitimate passport holder, the passport has not been stolen, and the person has not swapped identities. These verification process took place by immigration officers who needed to do onsite and prompt assessments of documentation and the person. As technology, international standards and travelers increase, technology became the facilitator. Systems to ensure authentication, verification and assessment are done swiftly. This is where Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology comes in.

With AI-driven systems used to detect potential threats, identify suspicious activities, and alert authorities for potential security breaches, AI compares a traveler's live facial image against biometric passport chips, national identity databases, Visa databases, watchlists, and lost and stolen passport records. Modern algorithms can also perform liveness detection to reduce attempts to breach the system with older photographs, masks, or other camouflages.

AI can tell us who you are?

AI is now integrated in most security systems as it can easily handle facial recognition, tracking of vehicles, and analysis of social media data. Instead of only reacting to incidents, AI can forecast potential risks by analyzing historical and real-time information including but not limited to emerging human trafficking routes, drug trafficking corridors, terrorist travel patterns, smuggling networks, organized crime movements, and illegal migration trends. AI enhances watchlist screening by reducing false positives through contextual analysis. Border-focused AI technologies come in multiple forms and can include algorithms designed to evaluate travelers nuanced and almost imperceptible emotional expressions, biometric analysis of fingerprints and facial recognition, and scanner software that can differentiate humans from wildlife in remote border sections. This enables governments to allocate resources proactively. An essential component of safeguarding the national security of a country is ensuring that all who cross borders are not a threat to the destination country.

Assessment with depth and analytics for good?

AI can be used to analyze large amounts of data from various sources including documentation, government databases, and other available open unstructured data sources to detect high risk individuals in suspicious high-risk activities. These volumes of data from multiple sources, including Passenger Name Records (PNR), Advance Passenger Information (API), immigration history, criminal and watchlist databases, and financial and travel patterns, allow authorities to determine the traveler’s behavior and assigns a dynamic risk score to each traveler. As shared by Nate Carpenter, Chief Technology Officer at Securiport "Artificial intelligence and machine learning have revolutionized the analysis of data and enabled the detection of patterns that humans would be hard-pressed to find. Given the volume and variety of traveler relevant data, from biometrics to travel history to open-source intelligence related to high-risk individuals, the border security authorities can augment their work with these tools to help them process travelers efficiently".

The good of AI in border security is the fact it equips authorities with powerful tools to monitor, protect and defend their borders. Therefore, it is crucial to have an efficient and effective system in place to manage borders and control the sovereignty of territories.

Hence, AI is used to identify patterns indicative of threat to the nation's safety and security.

A US based aviation security and border controls company, Securiport, a privately-owned and with over 25 years of deploying their solutions around the world, have advanced in AI with patents and proprietary technologies the capability to correlate documents with suspected terrorists, by analyzing shared articles concerning recent terror attacks in a specific country or region. With Securiport’s aviation security and border controls systems authorities can easily review relevant online activity of specific individuals, establish traveling and behavioral patterns and flag it for further investigation. While de-prioritizing irrelevant activity, AI can play a significant role in improving border security, by providing better decision support and enhancing situational awareness.

Many of the systems derive from surveillance tools that have existed in some form for decades but are now increasingly automated and computerized, which adds value to human assessment by making preliminary determinations about possible threats and how authorities should respond. The role of AI in border security is a complex issue, with various stakeholders involved to balance the efficiency, security, accuracy, and compliance aspects of such systems. In conclusion, AI plays a key role in how border security agencies are better prepared for future threats as well as how they're able to protect their borders from potential terror attacks.