Synthetic data for biometrics training: Addressing bias without privacy risks

By Gaurav Sharma, Director of Operations at Chetu

Biometric systems are deeply integrated into today’s digital identity landscape—from airports and border security to banking apps. As concerns about bias and data ethics increase, developers face pressure to enhance fairness without relying on sensitive real-world data. Artificial intelligence (AI)-generated synthetic data has become a transformative solution.

Why artificial data matters in biometrics

Synthetic biometric data refers to algorithm-generated facial images, fingerprints, voice recordings, palmprints, and gait human traits, but is not sourced from actual individuals. This distinction makes them inherently privacy-preserving. Traditional datasets, often built from real-world samples, can unintentionally reflect demographic imbalances or include data from individuals who did not explicitly consent to its use. Synthetic generation helps address this issue by enabling data composition, ensuring diverse genders, ethnicities, and age groups are represented equally.

Moreover, software developers can rapidly produce synthetic datasets. For biometric systems that require simulating specific issues—such as facial occlusion, aging, or spoof attempts—synthetic data offers unlimited flexibility. Artificial Intelligence engineering teams often implement pipelines to organize their biometric infrastructure, ensuring compliance with the EU Artificial Intelligence Act and other regulatory acts.

Latest advancements in artificial data and agentic AI

In recent years, hybrid designs that blend Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) with diffusion techniques have improved biometric data. These models enable precise variations in facial features, lighting, and angles, which are key to building fair and reliable systems.

Privacy-first design is a key area of innovation. New architectures focus on preventing fake data from being reverse-engineered to reveal personal identities. Microsoft has demonstrated the efficiency of this strategy by using large-scale synthetic 3D face datasets to train commercial-grade facial recognition systems.

Agentic AI, capable of acting independently to achieve design goals, is transforming the development of synthetic datasets. Agents can actively identify demographic or feature gaps, generate new samples, and adapt model retraining cycles. Companies are incorporating agentic AI into biometric development environments, using designs to respond dynamically to new use cases and risks. Meanwhile, the significance of this area is underscored by Nvidia’s acquisition of Gretel, valued at more than $320 million, to train AI and Large Language Models (LLMs).

Biometrics use cases: from HCM to cybersecurity

Synthetic data is already transforming real-world applications in human capital management (HCM), access control, and cybersecurity. For example, synthetic palm images are being used to train bias-resistant contactless payment systems. In the education sector, synthetic face and voice data are powering remote proctoring tools, raising concerns about student privacy.

In law enforcement, synthetic fingerprints are helping agencies train Automated Biometric Identification Systems (ABIS) while reducing legal exposure. On the defensive side, cybersecurity teams are increasingly utilizing artificial data to simulate attacks. Some adversaries even create synthetic “repeaters”—fake biometric identities used to spoof defenses.

Biometric engineering teams often implement synthetic liveness detection systems, helping clients in finance and healthcare analyze micro-movements, texture inconsistencies, and 3D depth cues to spot deepfakes. AI-powered Interactive Voice Systems, which are also trained on fictional data, now analyze behavioral traits such as voice pitch, typing styles, or navigation habits, thereby providing more secure access to telehealth services.

Buy, build, or customize: Identifying a path forward

Organizations typically arrive at three approaches to integrating synthetic biometric data: buy, build, or customize. The buy option is pre-generated synthetic datasets, which is straightforward given a reliable provider who follows appropriate legal and ethical protections. Fast deployment is a primary advantage of this approach, especially in a regulated environment. Beyond the reliability of the provider, there is less assurance (and potential liability nuances) with rigid datasets compared to developing datasets that incorporate variability, meeting specialized biometric features, or complying with non-generalized industry requirements or compliance mandates.

In contrast, building a custom synthetic dataset allows the organization total design, oversight, and control over the entire process—but will demand more resources, investment in AI skills and capabilities, and infrastructure, which is why companies often work with digital intelligence and software solutions providers who have experience in their industries, AI, and in the creation of synthetic datasets that meet all legal and regulatory requirements.

Many mid-market organizations, however, see the hybrid option—customizing third-party synthetic datasets—as a more prudent path. As with building software solutions, businesses need to find a vetted partner with expertise in helping them integrate a customized collection of data into their existing model training.

Ethical and technical challenges

Synthetic biometric data presents a new class of ethical and technical issues despite its potential. Poorly prepared datasets can nevertheless reproduce real-world bias if generative models are trained on faulty information. In certain circumstances, synthetic outputs are too similar to real individuals, posing an identification risk, particularly in hybrid datasets that contain both real and fake samples.

Moreover, while fake data may seem exempt from regulation, many jurisdictions still classify it as biometric data depending on how it’s created or used. That means organizations must still maintain robust oversight of data systems and audit trails. Trusted software developers design hybrid synthetic pipelines that combine anonymized real data with AI-generated augmentation, alongside automated fairness validation tools.

Future of AI and synthetic biometric data: what’s next?

Looking ahead, agentic AI and synthetic biometric data will become inseparable. Intelligent agents will continuously curate datasets—identifying model weaknesses, generating new synthetic samples, and triggering retraining routines. Synthetic “biometric twins”—AI avatars that simulate users will become central to stress-testing biometric systems.

These capabilities will also be integrated into MLOps environments, facilitating ongoing education and automatic deployment. New regulatory structures require the tracking of artificial data provenance, fairness certification, and version control. AI development teams are already exploring these integrations, helping clients future-proof their biometric models with agentic oversight and lifecycle governance.

Artificial data is now a fundamental component of morally sound and legally compliant biometric systems rather than a niche invention. As facial identification, fingerprint scanning, and behavioral authentication continue to change digital security, enterprises must design data equity and privacy into their processes. Fake data provides the tools to meet these goals—enabling organizations to train fairer models, simulate rare scenarios, and comply with laws.

Organizations should evaluate their existing biometric datasets, identify any privacy gaps, and determine the optimal approach to artificial data planning. Companies with proficiency in creating AI and biometric integration can help enterprises implement robust synthetic pipelines that evolve in response to business and regulatory demands.

About the author

Gaurav Sharma is a Director of Operations at Chetu, a global software solutions and support services provider, overseeing Chetu’s artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and biometric authentication projects. Gaurav has driven innovation in many industries for more than a decade. He has established himself as a prominent technology industry leader and an AI development and implementation expert.

Article Topics

AI  |  biometric bias  |  biometric dataset  |  biometrics  |  Chetu  |  synthetic biometric data  |  synthetic data