DIF backs ‘Personhood Credentials’ to restore privacy to the net

The notion of digital credentials that prove not who someone is, but rather prove only that they are someone with a single such credential, is gaining ground.

A new paper, titled “Personhood credentials: Artificial intelligence and the value of privacy-preserving tools to distinguish who is real online” and authored by a host of prominent digital identity researchers and practitioners, makes the case for these credentials.

Authors include representatives of OpenAI, Harvard Society of Fellows, MIT, Oxford University, the American Enterprise Institute, the Collective Intelligence Project, DIF ED Kim Hamilton Duffy and DIF members Microsoft and SpruceID.

They argue that “Personhood Credentials” (PHCs) can improve the security and privacy of online interactions by helping differentiate between real humans and the mass of bots and AI entities impersonating people.

The paper defines PHCs and their foundational requirements, reviews the possible benefits and challenges of issuing and using them, and offers insights into integrating them with existing digital identity systems. A series of appendices explain trustworthiness in digital interactions, how PHCs can help guard against synthetic content, how they can be implemented and how the ecosystem should work.

One basic requirement of effective PHCs is a limit of one credential per person, along with measures to prevent or mitigate their theft and transfer. PHCs also require a way to check the credential, and either regular re-authentication or expiry. Another requirement is that they cannot be linked, and they support pseudonymity to protect user privacy. That entails minimal storage of personally identifiable information during enrollment and minimal disclosure when used.

The idea is similar to the “proof of personhood” provided by HumanCode and TON Society, Civic (with FaceTec biometrics) and several other blockchain and biometrics developers, and the “proof of humanity” offered by Worldcoin.

Building an ecosystem

The Decentralized Identity Foundation argues in a blog post that Verifiable Credentials and the standards behind decentralized digital identity provide an ideal basis from which to meet the needs of PHCs, and their interoperability challenges in particular.

“Our long-standing dedication to privacy-preserving digital identity, combined with our focus on Proof of Personhood in the Credential Schemas group and our work in the Applied Cryptography group, aligns directly with these principles and is focused on addressing these challenges,” DIF says.

DIF invites others developers and organizations to join it in the Personhood Credentials project.

Article Topics

decentralized ID  |  Decentralized Identity Foundation (DIF)  |  digital identity  |  Personhood Credentials (PHCs)  |  standards  |  verifiable credentials