Personhood Credentials May Improve Online Safety

The increasing capacity for bots to manipulate and distort our online communities has brought society to a crossroad. Today’s sophisticated chatbots can flood internet communities and engage in real-time conversations in an attempt to shape public perceptions and distort reality. Some of us may have already experienced signs of this shift, as seen in viral memes like the "Ignore All Previous Instructions," where alleged bots are tricked into giving ridiculous replies.

One solution to this problem may be to end online anonymity, but online anonymity also protects people that might use personal information to nefarious ends. The challenge is clear: how do we protect individual privacy while ensuring the integrity of our online spaces? Our Digital Safety Research Institutes' latest research elevates a promising solution — Personhood Credentials (PHCs). These digital credentials act as "lighthouses," allowing us to verify the authenticity of users as representing a singular real human without compromising their online safety.

Our report, co-authored with leaders in artificial intelligence and the web standards communities, explores how we can potentially secure our digital communities. It highlights the importance of balancing privacy with the need for authenticating humanness, offering a pathway to protecting both individual rights and the health of our shared online spaces.

For a deeper dive into these issues and potential solutions, explore the full report and these related incidents:

• “Personhood credentials: Artificial intelligence and the value of privacy-preserving tools to distinguish who is real online”
• Incident 644: State-Sponsored Hackers Escalate Phishing Attacks Using Artificial Intelligence
• Incident 774: Covert AI Influence Operations Linked to Russia, China, Iran, and Israel, OpenAI Reveals