Author ORCID Identifier
Amod Moharil: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2418-0766
Shishir K. Jha: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3646-8321
Abstract
Digital identification systems promise enhanced governance, yet authentication failure remains a persistent policy concern. This paper examines authentication failures in India's Aadhaar system as a data justice concern, identifying a previously undocumented demographic authentication failure mechanism. Fieldwork in Maharashtra's school education system documents authentication failures caused by individuals submitting Aadhaar copies with outdated demographic information following demographic updates in UIDAI's database. We introduce the concept of 'physical primacy' to explain how end-users conceptualise digital ID through its physical manifestation while remaining unaware of the dynamic relationship between physical cards and centralised databases. The study reveals that UIDAI's system design failed to account for residents' material-centric understanding of Aadhaar, leaving the system vulnerable to authentication failures. The paper argues that this failure mechanism constitutes a form of data injustice requiring recognition in both scholarship and policy, and proposes design interventions for UIDAI to address exclusion patterns currently embedded in system architecture.
Recommended Citation
Moharil, A.,
&
Jha, S. K.
(In press).
The Digital-physical Disconnect in Digital ID: A Case of Aadhaar-based Authentication Failures Due to Outdated Physical Cards.
Information Technology for Development.
Available at:
https://aisel.aisnet.org/itd/vol32/iss1/36