States Deploy Artificial Intelligence to Stop Unemployment Fraud

States are using artificial intelligence and other high-tech tools to identify and deny billions of dollars in fraudulent claims as they deal with a surge in Covid-19-related unemployment.

“These benefit programs are clearly very outmanned and outgunned,” said Jon Coss, CEO and founder of Pondera Solutions Inc., a firm that ferrets out fraud, waste, and abuse in health-care and government programs. “You can’t do this with just people, you have to have machines. The other guys do.”

Colorado recently developed a tech-based method to detect unemployment fraud it calls the “18th measure,” which is so effective it has helped ...