AI vs. ID: Proof of human in a world of agents, bots, deep fakes, more

We’re entering a world where AI – including AI agents, bots, deep fakes, and so on — are changing the internet, very drastically. And so we will need proof of who’s human, or not, online – aka “proof of human”. (This theme is also represented on the latest cover of Time magazine). Since the technology — and network — story here draws on both existing and new tech to help solve what’s actually a *very* difficult problem, we cover why it matters, go into some common questions, and finally how it all works under the hood.

with @eddylazzarin @adrian_ludwig @remco @smc90

Hi everyone, welcome to this week’s episode of web3 with a16z podcast, I’m Sonal, and today we’re talking about a hot topic which is also very evergreen because we’re entering a world where AI – including AI agents, bots, deep fakes, and so on — are changing the internet, very drastically. And so we will need proof of who’s human, or not, online – aka “proof of human” (as Tools for Humanity and World app call it).

The theme is actually represented on the latest cover of Time magazine, which features the Tools for Humanity orb: a ball-like hardware device that maps your eye’s iris code to an app on your phone to verify you’re human. (It’s actually only the fifth time in the past decade that hardware tech’s been on the cover; the other times are the iphone, Oculus, consumer drones, and SpaceX.)

Since the technology — and network — story here draws on both existing and new tech to help solve what’s actually a *very* difficult problem — and in a way where privacy is by default — we begin with the why it matters, then go into some common questions, and finally how it all works under the hood. Our expert guests are:

• Eddy Lazzarin, CTO at a16zcrypto;
• Adrian Ludwig, Chief Architect and CISO at Tools for Humanity; and
• Remco Bloemen, Head of Protocol at World.

As a reminder: None of the following is investment, business, legal, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information including link to a list of our investments.