Technological progress is exacerbating online recognition problems. First of all, you need a way to identify people and bots. It is equally important to free the identity from the influence of social network developers and other large companies. And another serious problem is the unidentified. As crazy as it sounds, there are about 1 billion people on the planet who do not have any official identification documents.
These problems are more than enough to make us think about effective ways to solve them. Therefore, several protocols have appeared recently, including those based on the blockchain.
Basic identification problems
Now, we have all voluntarily and quietly become either slaves or hostages of social networks and large companies. One of the reasons for this problem is the monopoly of companies like Google. Somewhere in the depths of the Internet, an unimaginable amount of information about each active user of the network is stored in centralized databases to which the user himself does not have access. In addition, the account may be blocked for far-fetched reasons or without explanation at all. So a person can instantly lose everything: his network of contacts, his income, his own achievements. All data belongs to the monopolist, and it becomes the target of hackers.
Human or AI
AI-based bots are rapidly improving, and today, it is extremely difficult to distinguish human-created content from AI-generated content. It is also almost impossible to determine who owns the account, conducts correspondence, writes texts, and creates other content. Automated trading on cryptocurrency exchanges is quite common. It’s convenient to trust the robot to buy USDT-TRC20 at the most favorable rate and not waste time monitoring the market.
The scope of AI is expanding rapidly, and identity polling is becoming a growing concern for people. It is often very important to know for sure who you are dealing with a person or a robot.
Unidentified
About 1 billion people on the planet are undocumented, and approximately 2.5 billion people do not have access to banking. These people cannot even get a basic education, get a formal job, or take advantage of the opportunities of the modern economy. And not all of them are completely satisfied with their situation. Surprisingly, buying a smartphone and learning how to change USDT-TRC20 to USDT-ERC20 in some regions is much easier than getting an ID card.
This problem can be solved, or at least significantly reduced in scale, by providing these people with the opportunity to be identified through a smartphone. This way, most of them will be able to receive equal rights with other citizens and be included in economic processes.
Existing identity verification protocols
The easiest way to identify users is Proof-of-Personhood. The system generates a list of keys, each of which is controlled by one unique user. Vitalik Buterin argued in his blog that a person can add only one key to the system, and bots will not be able to penetrate the system.
This project has been one of the most discussed in recent months. However, Buterin himself said that the system has not yet been properly thought out and needs to be improved.
The Proof of Humanity protocol combines social verification with video submission. In addition, to register in the system, you need to make a refundable deposit of 0.157 ETH and enlist the support of an already certified user. After all requirements are met, the profile is entered into the registry on the blockchain. The account confirms the reality of the owner’s identity and serves as an access point to many services.
Vitalik Buterin hopes that such a system will simplify access to education, voting processes, medical services and other important aspects of modern life. However, so far, the demand for Proof-of-Humanity is small.
Another protocol being discussed is Worldcoin. The name itself hints at the ambition of the project, implying an attempt to create a single database about all of humanity. User data is supplemented with a retinal scan. Biometric identity verification eliminates the possibility of downloading videos created using deepfake technologies. For passing identification, users receive WLD tokens.
However, this project also has many critics. in particular, doubts were raised about retinal scanning equipment.
Digital identity networks are just beginning to emerge, but this area will eventually become indispensable. Already existing protocols focus on user sovereignty, but much remains unclear. For example, it is not clear how secure and decentralized they will become. One way or another, fierce competition is brewing in this market segment, and each project will inevitably face a barrage of criticism.
