An AI-supporting NGO run by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, along with the CEOs of two of the world’s top providers of biometric digital IDs are calling on the new British government to ramp up the country’s march toward a forced digital ID for all citizens.

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which advises government leaders worldwide, is also calling for a new global digital ID system powered by artificial intelligence. The institute published a paper in May 2024 titled Governing in the Age of AI: A New Model to Transform the State.

According to an article at the website Biometric Update, UK Member of Parliament Peter Kyle, the new Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, is being pressured to speed up the government’s implementation of digital IDs.

An open letter from Robin Tombs, CEO of the biometrics firm Yoti, calls on the new UK government to pass legislation requiring digital ID and so-called online safety measures, such as using AI-generated face-scans to verify the age of people online and at retail locations.

A letter on similar themes was addressed to Kyle by executives at another biometrics firm, OIX, who, like Tombs, are suggesting there is an economic benefit that can be gained from a “more mature digital ID ecosystem,” according to Biometric Update.

Tombs writes in his letter to the UK official:

“This framework would enable UK residents to use digital IDs with the same confidence as paper documents in more situations, which would improve the accessibility of services provided by organizations in the public and private sectors.”

He says demand for digital ID is growing among UK consumers, with more than 4.5 million people downloading one of Yoti’s biometric face-scan apps.

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