AI is not redefining identity, it is raising the burden of proof

19 March 2026Opinion7 min

Generated identities are cheap now. That does not change what an identity is, it changes how much evidence you need before you accept one.

01
Cheap fabrication, unchanged definition
An identity is still a claim that can be corroborated or not. What changed is the cost of producing a plausible-looking claim, which means the volume of claims that look fine at a glance has gone up sharply.
02
Plausibility stopped being evidence
Systems that scored on coherence - does this profile look normal - are the ones struggling. Coherence is exactly what a generator optimises for. Independent corroboration is not.
03
The uncomfortable implication
If your verification cannot produce the sources behind its conclusion, you cannot tell whether it is detecting something real or agreeing with a well-made fake. Provenance moved from a compliance nicety to the core of the product.

Cheap fabrication, unchanged definition