Challenges of Humanity Verification in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: The Rise and Controversy of Humanity Protocol

In the ups and downs of the cryptocurrency market, a project called Humanity Protocol has attracted widespread attention. The token $H surged 95.2% within just 24 hours, triggering a frenzy in the market. However, behind this project, known as a "meme coin," lies a story that is far more complex than a simple myth of getting rich.

The birth of the Humanity Protocol stems from an increasingly urgent sense of anxiety in our times. In today's internet world, bot traffic accounts for nearly half, and deepfake technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated, leading to the collapse of the trust foundation in the digital realm. The "witch attack"—where a single entity manipulates the network by creating a multitude of false identities—is eroding every corner of the Web3 world like a plague.

To address this crisis, the Humanity Protocol has proposed an ambitious vision: to build a global "trust layer" or "human layer" aimed at "bringing the first billion humans into Web3". At its core is "Proof of Humanity" (PoH), which uses palm print recognition technology combined with zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) to protect user privacy. The project is built on the Polygon CDK, creating an Ethereum-compatible Layer 2 network that lays the groundwork for future scalability and developer friendliness.

However, this ambitious project was hit hard during its initial token distribution. In an airdrop event called "Fairdrop", a large number of bots infiltrated the system. Founder Terrance Kwok admitted that of the previously claimed 9 million "human IDs", only about 1 million were real, valid human users. This revelation dealt a fatal blow to the trust of a project centered around "proof of humanity", causing the token price to plummet.

The Humanity Protocol stands in stark contrast to its main competitor, Worldcoin. The former employs lightweight mobile scanning and palm recognition, attempting to avoid the global regulatory turmoil caused by the latter's use of iris scanning. However, Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin warns that any single identification system that becomes dominant could erode the internet's valuable "pseudonymity" and ultimately devolve into a surveillance tool.

The project is backed by strong capital support, including over $50 million provided by top venture capital firms such as Pantera Capital and Jump Crypto. Even more noteworthy is the collaboration between Humanity Protocol and Nasdaq-listed company Prenetics, which plans to issue "Humanity Proof" certificates through DNA testing. While this initiative may create a strong competitive barrier, it also pushes the project into more complex ethical and regulatory domains.

The story of the Humanity Protocol reflects a microcosm of the Web3 experiment, showcasing the potential of decentralized technology to reshape social infrastructure, while also exposing the governance chaos, incentive misalignment, and conflicts with real-world rules it faces on its path to maturity.

Supporting or participating in the Humanity Protocol is not just an investment decision, but a statement about the future paradigm of identity. Every price fluctuation of this project is a reevaluation by the market of this grand experiment. Regardless of its ultimate success or failure, the Humanity Protocol will play an indispensable role in exploring the verification of humanity in the age of AI.