How do you know if you’re dealing with a human or a bot? [Q&A]

If you’ve seen ‘Blade Runner’ you’ll know how difficult it can be to determine if someone is human or not. While that was fiction it’s worth remembering that it was set in 2019.

In 2025 and in the real world it’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell humans from bots in the online world. AI-powered bots, nearly indistinguishable from humans, are multiplying rapidly. This presents a growing nightmare for headhunters, security officers and more. We spoke to Terence Kwok, founder and CEO of blockchain identity platform Humanity Protocol, about the challenge of verifying humanity online.

BN: How fast are these AI bots growing? Are there any particular sectors where this is more apparent?

TK: We are already far from a time when every verified user was a real person. The focus has shifted from proving identity to proving humanity, a quality once considered undisputed and unquestionable.

This issue pervades the web, though some areas are more affected than others, such as social media. On platforms like X and Telegram, users are constantly contacted by AI-backed bots capable of sustaining conversations and mimicking humans. According to a Washington University study, bots account for up to 68 percent of Twitter users.

Compounding this challenge is the fact that only nine percent of people aged 16 and older feel confident in identifying deepfakes, a concern that will likely worsen given recent AI breakthroughs.

Another critical issue is manipulated voices. AI-backed identities are increasingly used to purchase influence and undermine democracy, raising significant concerns for governments striving to ensure a ‘One Human, One Vote’ system. The solution lies in combining cutting-edge biometrics with decentralized technology, which represents the future of identity verification.

BN: What are the risks and threats of such a rapid increase in these nearly these bots across online platforms?

TK: AI is rapidly enhancing the capabilities of online bots. One of the biggest challenges we face is the delay between AI advancements and their real-world implementation, which makes it hard to know when we’ve crossed critical boundaries. AI has already progressed to the point where it can convincingly mimic a real person, especially when interacting with non-native speakers.

These bots significantly erode trust across the web. They deceive, mislead, and manipulate, so we need to be extremely cautious when connecting with anyone online. Businesses should conduct thorough background checks, sometimes involving forensic analysis, for any serious matters. Dating platforms, in particular, are heavily affected by bots and fake identities, so users must exercise great care. As a result, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to trust public opinions expressed by individuals online.

Specifically, this issue will significantly disrupt remote hiring. In a January press release, the US Department of Justice stated that an FBI investigation uncovered a years-long plot to place North Korean IT workers as remote employees to generate revenue for the DPRK regime and evade sanctions. We believe this is a harbinger of a massive shift that will become a headache for HR and security officers. By 2027, we estimate that only one percent of tech resumes will come from humans, with 99 percent generated by malicious bots and fake IDs.

The challenge is to verify that each person in the system is who they claim to be. At Humanity Protocol, we achieve this through an elegant combination of palm scans and zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to protect user data. The latter is crucial: ZKPs enable users to prove they meet verification criteria without revealing sensitive information, ensuring both privacy and security.

BN: With bots becoming so adept at mimicking human behavior, how effective do you believe current Know Your Customer (KYC) processes will be in the near future?

TK: Given the AI advancements mentioned earlier, bots can now convincingly mimic not only behaviors but also credentials and documents. For example, current banking KYC processes often rely on utility bills, such as gas or electricity, bearing the applicant’s name -- something even outdated versions of generative AI can easily produce. Modern generative AI systems are far more powerful. KYC processes that aren’t linked to government systems verifying the issuance of passports or IDs are becoming increasingly ineffective.

That’s why we must go further, focusing not only on identification and verification but also on proving humanity through biometrics.

BN: What role do biometrics have to play in enhancing security against machine identities?

TK: Biometrics play a pivotal role in fortifying defenses against machine identities. By leveraging unique biological traits, such as palm vein patterns, we can establish a trust anchor that machines simply cannot replicate.

Unlike passwords or shared private data, which are vulnerable to exploitation, biometric systems like those developed by Humanity Protocol use advanced encryption to ensure that an individual’s data remains private and secure. Each scan is a step toward obsoleting bots, as it verifies human presence with unparalleled certainty. This multi-step verification process not only safeguards user data but also builds a foundation of trust that’s critical in environments plagued by automated threats.

We’re already seeing global players like Tencent, Amazon, and Mastercard adopting palm scans, signaling a shift toward mainstream acceptance. Beyond Web3, this technology empowers industries like finance for secure KYC processes, healthcare for patient verification, and even education for credential authentication.

Biometrics enable secure, cardless transactions in retail and dining, creating a seamless yet highly secure user experience. By rooting identity in something as unique as your palm, we’re not just enhancing security -- we’re redefining it for a world where human trust is paramount.

BN: How might decentralized identity solutions or blockchain technologies play a role in establishing trust and verifying individuals?

TK: Decentralized identity solutions and blockchain technologies are transforming how we establish trust and verify individuals in the digital realm. Through innovations like the Humanity Protocol, we’re leveraging decentralized IDs, or DIDs, which allow users to log in, vote, and engage across Web3 platforms without the need for repeated verifications. Additionally, it may extend to Web2 platforms with the help of zkTLS, a process that can bridge data from the platforms we use everyday, like Meta, X, or any everyday applications with the Web3 ecosystem.

This universal, private identity eliminates the friction of redundant checks while ensuring security. Central to this is the use of zero-knowledge proofs, which enable verification without exposing sensitive personal data, striking a balance between proving authenticity and preserving privacy.

By anchoring these systems in blockchain’s decentralized framework, we ensure that no single entity has control over an individual’s data, fostering trust in a way centralized systems simply can’t. This approach not only empowers users with sovereignty over their identities but also creates a robust, scalable foundation for secure interactions across diverse applications, from governance to finance and beyond.

Image credit: phonlamai/depositphotos.com