Issue 90 - Online Personhood

Hey, you human? Prove it. 

With more AI-generated slop that I can handle on my screens these days, I say it's time to issue online credentials that will prove that you're a human being. 

We have driver's licenses to prove who we are when we get behind the wheel, and we have passports to prove who we are when we cross a border. You need a photo ID to buy a gun. 

On the internet, you can be a dog, and nobody would know. I listened today to a couple of bots doing their own podcast, and they were pretty darn close to sounding human. Bots are writing articles, financial reports, and meeting minutes. Bots are also degrading the internet, spreading misinformation, committing fraud, and directing cyberattacks.  

AI's might seem pretty powerful, but there's one thing they can't do. An AI can't show up somewhere in person. So personhood credentials would involve going somewhere, like the DMV or the Post Office, and proving your identity, and somebody official there would issue an encrypted credential. The credential itself it could be a certificate in your web browser that would be linked to your fingerprint, eye, or voice.