AI agents and proof of human: an introduction

AI agents could unlock productivity, creativity and problem-solving at a scale never before seen. 

They also introduce a significant new challenge: ensuring trust, fairness and accountability in a world increasingly impacted by artificial intelligence.

In this article, we’ll take a high-level look at what AI agents are, how they’re likely to be used in the near future and how tools like proof of human can help mitigate the potential risks that accompany their advancement.

AI agents are autonomous systems capable of performing highly complex tasks including reasoning, planning, adapting, using tools and correcting errors all on their own. 

Unlike automated bots designed to perform narrow, predefined tasks which became commonplace in 2024, AI agents are able to function autonomously to perform complex, independent actions. They’re poised to transform the way we live, work and interact online. 

“Agents are the thing everyone is talking about, I think for good reason,” said OpenAI CEO and World Network co-creator Sam Altman at the New York Times DealBook Summit in December 2024. 

“This idea that you can give an AI system a pretty complicated task…that takes a while to do, and go and use a bunch of tools and create something that has value. That’s the kind of thing I’d expect next year, and that’s a huge deal. If that works as well as we hope it does, that can really transform things.” 

We’ll examine the potential uses of AI agents below.

While no one can say exactly how influential AI agents will be, the list of their potential use cases is extensive. Agents can assist with everything from resolving complex coding and customer service tasks to cybersecurity, crypto trading and much more.

Imagine a personal travel assistant that not only researches and books travel for you, but learns and adapts to your travel preferences, proactively rebooks flight cancellations and delays, integrates itself with other travel apps to organize hotel stays and plan itineraries, etc.—all on its own. 

Companies like Meta are already planning to release such autonomous agents throughout their social platforms like Facebook and Instagram to create profiles, interact with people and in general supplement (or replace) human accounts:

“We expect these AIs to actually, over time, exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that accounts do,” Connor Hayes, vice-president of product for generative AI at Meta said in a Financial Times interview in December. “They’ll have bios and profile pictures and be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform . . . that’s where we see all of this going.”

Such far-reaching potential use cases, paired with the rapid advancement of AI, mean that agents are likely to be disruptive in ways that are difficult to predict. We’ll examine how a new technology called proof of human can help mitigate their possible risks below. 

Proof of human (PoH) is a process, powered by cutting edge new technology, that allows individuals to anonymously verify their humanness and uniqueness online. It provides a base layer on top of which digital identity can be built, but it is not digital identity. Think of it as a digital “blue checkmark” that authenticates an account or an action online as belonging to an anonymous verified human. 

A more detailed explanation of proof of human can be found here.

PoH enables the following benefits as it relates to AI agents:

Trust

By giving individuals a way to digitally authenticate their humanness, PoH will not only make it easier to distinguish between humans and sophisticated AI agents online but it will also provide a mechanism to limit accounts created—and potential misinformation spread—by AI.

Control

As they become more numerous, AI agents are predicted to work together in what are being called agent swarms or networks. With PoH, such networks will be able to be overseen by a verified human, ensuring that a person can retain control over their agents. 

Fairness

As AI agents such as MEV (maximum extractable value) arbitragers become more capable, it will be increasingly difficult and/or expensive for humans to compete for blockspace on blockchains. This is particularly consequential for crypto traders.

PoH enables solutions like Priority Blockspace for Humans (PBH), where transactions from verified humans are given priority over those from agents or other bots. PBH is already being implemented on World Chain.

Above are just some of the potential benefits that PoH solutions like World ID can provide in a world with AI agents and agent networks.

As AI agents evolve, proof of human will likely provide the cornerstone for enabling ethical and scalable AI, ensuring humans remain empowered creators in a world increasingly shaped by intelligent machines.

To learn more about AI agents and proof of human, visit the World website, join the daily conversations on Twitter/X, WhatsApp, Discord, YouTube, Telegram and LinkedIn, or sign up for the blog newsletter at the bottom of this page. 

Additional important information is available in the World protocol whitepaper.