Modern digital platforms may provide unprecedented convenience, but they also come with grave risks to user data. The same technology that allows organizations to serve their customers better is also empowering hackers to drain individuals' and businesses' resources or manipulate data for their own gain.
Nicholas Desmond, director of data science at Huge Inc., believes that artificial intelligence holds the key to creating a more secure digital future. He's using AI and machine learning to solve real-world security challenges for Fortune 500 companies and individuals around the world.
Nicholas' Innovations in the Protection of Critical Systems
After graduating with a master's in mathematics from University College London, Nicholas started his career working in data engineering, building pipelines at companies like Experian, Wavemaker Global, and Kindred Group.
However, he discovered that he had a passion for data science, where he could use his skills to create valuable business insights by leveraging data. This ultimately led him to NuData Security at Mastercard, where he developed patented machine-learning models to protect digital systems from cyber threats. These innovations would go on to save clients millions.
Improving Fraud Detection
In collaboration with a major U.S. bank, Nicholas built a fraud detection system to help prevent account takeovers. By analyzing user data like login times, device type, and location, Nicholas' model can automatically flag any patterns that seem unusual. It utilizes decision tree logic (essentially evaluating individual data points with yes-or-no questions) to further break down these patterns and identify cases that look like fraud. Then, any suspicious activity can be sent to a manual reviewer and even automatically lock an account—stopping hackers before they can do any real damage.
"This model helped reduce the load on customer service and stopped fraud in its tracks," Nicholas says, "saving the bank a lot of money and creating a safer experience for customers."
Automating Anomaly Detection
Nicholas' next innovation would combat the rising threat of cyber attacks on websites and digital platforms, watching for unusual web traffic like DDoS attacks or hacking attempts.
By continuously monitoring "client keys" (unique identifiers for each user session) and collecting metrics like data transfer speeds, error rates, and traffic changes, Nicholas' tool can instantly spot abnormal activity. Upon flagging suspicious activity, the tool calculates an anomaly score to more accurately gauge the threat. If the score is high, it compares the activity to common attributes of known attacks, confirming whether a real threat is present.
"This automated system helps keep online platforms safe by catching suspicious activity before it can turn into a full-blown cyber threat," he explains. "It also adapts over time: By constantly updating its library of known attack signatures, it can thwart new forms of cyber attacks faster."
Defending Against Sensor Manipulation
Sensor manipulation occurs when hackers interfere with data from sensors (like cameras or radar), causing systems to receive false information. This can have serious consequences, especially in sectors like national defense.
To counter this, Nicholas has investigated the capabilities of technology to spot any irregularities in signals quickly. Subtle changes, like sudden blurring in a video or unusual radar blips, are picked up by the AI and flagged as possible tampering. This allows organizations to act fast and prevent potentially dangerous scenarios.
"Industries like defense, aerospace, and critical infrastructure," Nicholas explains, "rely heavily on accurate sensor data, making them prime use cases for this technology."
How Nicholas Strengthens Digital Systems Beyond Security
While strengthening cybersecurity has been a major focus for Nicholas, he believes that improving the digital ecosystem goes far beyond defending against the next attack.
That's why he's also studied generative AI and large language models extensively—algorithms that can understand human language, mimic reasoning, and create lifelike speech patterns. Now, Nicholas is using this emerging tech to transform further how businesses operate.
Interpreting Trends
While working at Huge Inc., Nicholas built Culture Decoder, an AI tool that helps brands understand and respond to the cultural trends that shape their customers' interests. By analyzing billions of data points across social media, news, and other sources, Culture Decoder can assess the sentiment and momentum of trends to give brands a clear picture of what's resonating with their audiences.
"Culture Decoder helps businesses stay ahead of shifts in customer interests," Nicholas explains, "driving growth by reaching new audiences and strengthening customer loyalty—and ultimately boosting both engagement and revenue."
Defending Vulnerable Users
Nicholas has also made great strides in using AI to protect vulnerable users—especially children—from harmful content online. He developed a multimodal AI system (artificial intelligence that can process different types of media) that scans for inappropriate content and flags it instantly, keeping users safe without interrupting their experience.
As bad actors use AI to spread harmful material, Nicholas has prioritized building AI systems with safety, transparency, and user trust at their core—shielding users rather than manipulating them.
Creating Effective Content
Lately, Nicholas has turned his attention to media and entertainment, developing a generative AI assistant that can streamline production workflows. His work allows for faster and more efficient media creation, handling repetitive daily tasks and allowing creators to focus on high-level work.
He's recently started applying this approach to the streamlined creation of children's books, using methods like parallel processing (running multiple tasks at once) and autoscaling (adjusting resources as needed) to lower costs and speed up production without losing quality.
Nicholas Desmond: Innovating in AI to Protect and Create
Nicholas Desmond sees artificial intelligence as a driver of innovation across industries. For the foreseeable future, his goal is clear: to harness AI to strengthen digital systems, protect users, and open new possibilities for businesses—all while upholding transparency and responsibility in every application.
To learn more about AI and digital safety, follow Nicholas Desmond on LinkedIn and check out Huge Inc.
