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AI ANALYSIS SHOWS YOUR FINGERPRINTS AREN'T UNIQUE
BBC Science Focus
|February 2024
The findings could lead to the reopening of many criminal cases
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An artificial intelligence (AI) has made a surprising discovery: our fingerprints aren't unique. Well, at least not when compared to other fingers on the same hand.
It has long been believed that every digit has its own pattern of whorls, loops and arches, unlike those of any other finger - so your index finger's print would be unlike that of your ring finger. This assumption of 'intra-person fingerprints' being unique has had a huge impact on forensic science. For instance, if a perpetrator left prints from different fingers at separate crime scenes, it would be difficult for police to link them to one person.
This story is from the February 2024 edition of BBC Science Focus.
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