Every finger has a unique fingerprint, right? Wrong, according to a new study published in Science Advances.
The Columbia University team used an AI model to analyze tens of thousands of fingerprints. It found that fingerprints can actually be shared across multiple fingers.
From a Columbia statement:
It’s a well-accepted fact in the forensics community that fingerprints of different fingers of the same person–”intra-person fingerprints”–are unique, and therefore unmatchable.
A team led by Columbia Engineering undergraduate senior Gabe Guo challenged this widely held presumption. Guo, who had no prior knowledge of forensics, found a public U.S. government database of some 60,000 fingerprints and fed them in pairs into an artificial intelligence-based system known as a deep contrastive network. Sometimes the pairs belonged to the same person (but different fingers), and sometimes they belonged to different people.
The researchers found that several of a person’s fingers sometimes shared the same print!
This finding could help police stop serial offenders. A thumbprint at Scene A and a ring finger print at Scene B could potentially be matched to the same person.
To be clear, the study didn’t find that different people share the same fingerprints. But I have to wonder what a larger data set might reveal.
First They Ignore You, Then They Laugh at You
Guo and his team tried to publish their incredible finding. But establishment journals gave him a chilly reception:
Once the team verified their results, they quickly sent the findings to a well-established forensics journal, only to receive a rejection a few months later. The anonymous expert reviewer and editor concluded that “It is well known that every fingerprint is unique,” and therefore it would not be possible to detect similarities even if the fingerprints came from the same person.
Eventually, Guo and his team were able to get published in the less specialized Science Advances. Sometimes experts in a field are the last ones to accept new discoveries.
A Trillion Scientists
Artificial intelligence just helped an undergraduate with no background in the field disprove one of the central truths of forensic science. What else will AI help us discover?
Here’s a thought experiment…
There are around 8 million scientists in the world. What if we 10x-ed that number? We’d have more scientific discoveries, right?
Now imagine if there were a trillion scientists.
This is the world we’re entering. More GPU’s are being built every day, and in time, we’ll have access to the IQ equivalent of a trillion scientists who never eat or sleep.
They’ll be assisted by human scientists as well. But each human will be able to accomplish more in an afternoon than he could’ve in an entire career without AI.
The discoveries we’re about to make will change our lives.
How do you think AI will change science? Leave a comment and let us know!
If you enjoyed this post, subscribe for more like this!
More on tech:
Welcome to the First Robot Restaurant
Save Money on Stuff I Use:
This platform lets me diversify my real estate investments so I’m not too exposed to any one market. I’ve invested since 2018 with great returns.
More on Fundrise in this post.
If you decide to invest in Fundrise, you can use this link to get $100 in free bonus shares!
I’ve used Misfits for years, and it never disappoints! Every fruit and vegetable is organic, super fresh, and packed with flavor!
I wrote a detailed review of Misfits here.
Use this link to sign up and you’ll save $15 on your first order.
Photo: “{71} Fingerprinted” by scribbletaylor is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Tremendous 
Leave a comment