How Elon Musk's Neuralink Brain Chip Will Change Humanity | Phillip Shoemaker

Summary

The transcript discusses the implications of Neuralink's human trials and the potential integration of AI with brain-computer interfaces. It explores the ethical concerns, societal divides, and security risks associated with advanced AI and deep fakes. Philip Shoemaker, CEO of identity.com, shares insights on decentralized digital identities and the importance of cryptographic signatures to ensure trust in digital content, highlighting the need for a verifiable system to protect against AI-generated fraud.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Neuralink, Elon Musk's brain-computer interface, is making progress with human trials, allowing a participant to control a computer mouse with their brain.
• 🤖 AI and deepfake technologies are becoming increasingly sophisticated, raising concerns about the authenticity of digital content and the potential for misuse.
• 🔐 Security risks associated with neural implants include the possibility of hacking and brain jacking, which could lead to unauthorized control over an individual's actions and speech.
• 🚀 The integration of neural implants with advanced AI could revolutionize human capabilities, potentially leading to a new wave of transhumanism and the augmentation of physical and mental abilities.
• 📚 Ethical concerns arise with the use of neural implants, particularly regarding the age at which they should be implanted and the potential impact on critical thinking and human development.
• 🌐 Decentralized identity solutions, like those being developed by identity.com, aim to address the challenges of verifying digital content and preventing identity theft in the age of AI and deepfakes.
• 🔒 Digital signatures and cryptographic methods are being explored to ensure the authenticity of digital content and to prevent AI from forging signatures.
• 📱 Decentralized identities store personal information solely on the individual's device, reducing the risk of data breaches and enhancing privacy.
• 🌐 The concept of a decentralized identity involves a blockchain-stored attestation of personal information, which is only accessible by the individual's biometrics and device.
• 🔍 Identity.com is working on a system where digital content, including AI-generated content, would be embedded with verifiable credentials to ensure the source and authenticity of the content.
• 🌐 The future of digital interactions may involve a 'Provenance tab' or similar feature, allowing users to verify the origin and authenticity of content they encounter.

Q & A

What is the potential security risk associated with neural implants like Neuralink?

The security risk includes the possibility of hacking into someone's neural implant to access sensitive information or even control their actions and speech, a concept known as 'brain jacking'.

How does Philip Shoemaker view the implications of Neuralink technology for disabled individuals?

Philip Shoemaker sees the technology as having positive implications for disabled individuals, as it could potentially allow them to control prosthetic limbs or regain the use of lost functions.

What are the ethical concerns regarding the use of neural implants in young individuals?

There are concerns about the appropriate age for neural implant augmentation, as the brain continues to develop until around the age of 25.过早使用神经植入物可能会影响年轻人的批判性思维能力的形成。

How does Philip Shoemaker envision the future of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs)?

Philip Shoemaker envisions a future where BCIs allow for direct and instantaneous interaction with computers and AI, potentially leading to a more isolated society and a reliance on technology for decision-making.

What is the concept of decentralized identity that identity.com is working on?

Decentralized identity is a system where personal identity data is stored only on the individual's device, not on centralized databases, providing more control over personal information and reducing the risk of data breaches.

How does identity.com plan to address the issue of deep fakes and AI-generated content?

Identity.com is working on cryptographic methods to ensure that content is signed by its creator, providing a verifiable credential that distinguishes between human-generated and AI-generated content.

What are the potential societal divisions that could arise from the widespread adoption of neural implants?

The adoption of neural implants could lead to a division between those who can afford the technology and those who cannot, potentially exacerbating social inequalities and creating a gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'.

How does Philip Shoemaker propose to prevent the misuse of decentralized identity for creating fake IDs?

Identity.com uses AI and cryptographic methods to verify the authenticity of IDs and personal information, ensuring that only legitimate identities are issued and stored on the individual's device.

What is the role of blockchain in decentralized identity systems?

Blockchain is used to store a cryptographic attestation of the individual's identity information, ensuring that the data is secure and tamper-proof without storing personal information on the blockchain itself.

How does Philip Shoemaker view the balance between technological advancement and preserving human capabilities like critical thinking?

He believes that technology should be used to augment human abilities, particularly for those in need, but cautions against over-reliance on technology that could diminish our natural cognitive abilities.

What are the potential implications for education if students have access to neural implants?

There could be concerns about cheating on exams and the potential for neural implants to replace the need for critical thinking and learning, as students might rely on the implants to access information rather than developing their own cognitive skills.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Neuralink and AI Integration

The discussion revolves around the potential and risks of neural implants like Neuralink, which can control devices with thoughts. The conversation touches on the implications for people with disabilities, the possibility of brain hacking, and the ethical considerations of such technology. The interviewee, Philip Shoemaker, CEO of identity.com, shares his thoughts on the positive uses of neural implants and the challenges they pose, including the potential for society to become divided based on access to this technology.

05:01

🎓 Future Education and Cheating Concerns

The speakers contemplate the future of education with neuralink technology, raising concerns about cheating in exams and the need for critical thinking development in students. They also discuss the potential for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to streamline interactions with computers and the possible societal changes that could result from widespread use of such technology.

10:05

🤖 Ethical and Societal Impact of Neuralink

The conversation delves into the ethical concerns surrounding neural implants, such as the appropriate age for implantation and the potential loss of critical thinking skills. The speakers also consider the societal divide that could emerge between those who can afford and those who cannot afford neural implants, leading to exclusionary technology and its potential consequences.

15:06

🔐 AI and Deepfake Security Measures

Philip Shoemaker discusses the work of identity.com in addressing security concerns related to AI and deepfakes. The focus is on creating a decentralized identity approach to ensure trusted transactions and interactions on the internet. The conversation highlights the importance of cryptographically signing content to verify its authenticity and the challenges of distinguishing between real and AI-generated content.

20:08

🆔 Decentralized Digital Identities

The discussion introduces the concept of decentralized digital identities as a solution to identity theft and the need for secure, private online interactions. Shoemaker explains how identity.com aims to provide individuals with a digital identity stored only on their devices, reducing the risk of data breaches and allowing for more control over personal information. The conversation also addresses the challenges of verifying identity and preventing the creation of synthetic IDs.

25:08

👋 Closing Remarks and Future Outlook

The interview concludes with Philip Shoemaker's appreciation for the discussion and a brief mention of his work at identity.com. The host thanks Shoemaker for his insights and invites viewers to follow his work, wrapping up the conversation with a reminder to like and subscribe to the content.

Keywords

💡Neuralink

Neuralink is a neurotechnology company founded by Elon Musk, aiming to develop implantable brain–machine interfaces (BMIs). In the video, Neuralink's progress in human trials is discussed, where a participant can control a computer mouse with a brain implant. This technology is seen as a step towards transhumanism, where humans augment their physical and mental abilities with machines.

💡Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)

BCI refers to a direct communication pathway between a brain and an external device. The video discusses the potential of BCIs to control devices or access the internet using thoughts, which could revolutionize the way humans interact with technology. The concept is central to the discussion about Neuralink and its implications for the future.

💡Transhumanism

Transhumanism is a movement that supports the use of technology to enhance human physical and cognitive abilities. The video touches on the idea that Neuralink and similar technologies could lead to a new wave of transhumanism, where humans might replace body parts with machines or augment their brains to improve memory and cognitive functions.

💡Deepfake

Deepfake refers to the use of artificial intelligence to create realistic but fake audio or video content, often used to manipulate or deceive. In the context of the video, deepfakes are discussed as a potential threat to trust and identity, as they can be used to create convincing but false representations of people, including interviews and other forms of communication.

💡Identity.com

Identity.com is a company focused on decentralized identity solutions, aiming to provide secure and verifiable digital identities. The video mentions the company's efforts to combat deepfakes and AI-generated content by creating a system where digital content is cryptographically signed and verified, ensuring trust and authenticity in online interactions.

💡Decentralized Identity

A decentralized identity is a digital identity that is not stored in a centralized database but rather on an individual's personal device, often a smartphone. This approach is designed to enhance privacy and security by giving individuals control over their personal data. The video discusses how decentralized identities can be used to verify the authenticity of digital content and transactions.

💡Cryptography

Cryptography is the practice of secure communication in the presence of adversaries. It involves the use of mathematical algorithms to protect information. In the video, cryptography is mentioned as a method to ensure that digital signatures cannot be forged by AI, providing a way to verify the authenticity of content and transactions.

💡Digital Signature

A digital signature is a mathematical scheme for verifying the authenticity of digital messages or documents. It ensures that the content has not been tampered with and confirms the identity of the sender. The video discusses the importance of digital signatures in the context of decentralized identities and the need for them to be secure against AI-generated forgeries.

💡Data Privacy

Data privacy refers to the ability of individuals to control how their personal data is used. The video emphasizes the importance of data privacy in the context of digital identities and the potential risks of data leakage and unauthorized access, especially with the rise of AI and deepfake technologies.

💡Ethical Concerns

Ethical concerns in the video pertain to the potential negative impacts of advanced technologies like Neuralink and AI on society, such as the loss of critical thinking skills, the creation of a divide between those who can afford and cannot afford these technologies, and the potential for misuse in creating false identities or content.

💡AI Ethics

AI ethics involves the study of how artificial intelligence should be developed and used in a way that is responsible and beneficial to society. The video discusses the ethical implications of AI, particularly in the context of creating content that can be indistinguishable from reality, and the need for systems to verify the authenticity of AI-generated content.

Highlights

The concept of brain jacking and the potential for someone to control another person's actions and speech through a neurochip.

The potential of neurochips to help disabled individuals and augment human capabilities.

Elon Musk's Neuralink making waves with its human trials, where a participant can control a computer mouse with a brain implant.

The ethical concerns and security risks associated with neurochips, including the possibility of hacking and information access.

The potential for neurochips to revolutionize education and the challenges of ensuring students still develop critical thinking skills.

The integration of neurochips with advanced AI and the implications for society, including the possibility of a collective consciousness.

The potential for neurochips to create a new transhumanist wave, where body parts are replaced with machines to augment physical and mental abilities.

The discussion on the potential societal division caused by the availability and affordability of neurochips.

The work of identity.com in addressing the crisis of AI and deep fakes by focusing on decentralized identity solutions.

The importance of cryptographically signing digital content to ensure its authenticity and prevent deep fakes from being mistaken for reality.

The concept of a decentralized identifier (DID) that is stored only on an individual's device, providing a more secure and private form of identity management.

The challenges of verifying synthetic identities created by AI and the measures taken by identity.com to combat this issue.

The potential for neurochips to lead to a future where interactions with AI are silent and internal, changing the way we communicate and interact with others.

The potential for neurochips to impact traditional institutions like medical schools, as the need for memorization may decrease with instant access to information.

The discussion on the potential for neurochips to be used in competitive environments, such as the Olympics, and the ethical considerations this raises.

The potential for neurochips to create an app store, allowing users to choose and run different AI engines and applications directly in their brains.

The potential societal division between those who can afford and access neurochips and those who cannot, leading to a gap in technological advancement and opportunities.

Transcripts

and of course there's security risk as

well you could in theory hack somebody's

chip therefore accessing a lot of

information yeah imagine right this

concept of brain jacking being somebody

be able to to uh uh getting through the

loopholes getting through the code on

your brain and be able to control what

you do and what you say imagine us right

now if somebody wanted to control what I

was saying and I was embedded with that

they could do it and suddenly I'm saying

some really wrong stuff on on an

interview with David Lynn to me this

would be bad so but there are great use

cases for this we're living in an age

where sci-fi is becoming reality what

happens when we implant neurochips into

our brain that can control things

remotely or perhaps even download or

upload information to the internet what

happens when AI becomes so ingrained

with our reality we can't distinguish

between deep fake and what's real how do

we protect ourselves from this we'll be

discussing these themes with our next

guest Philip Shoemaker executive

director and CEO of identity.com and

he's working on issues that solve the

crisis regarding AI uh and deep fake but

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on that to learn more Phillip welcome

back to the show good to see you again

great to see you David thanks for having

me on we're going to talk about uh

neuralink first and also uh new

developments in AI so Elon musk's

neuralink is Making Waves in the um in

the news I'll just read you this

paragraph from CNN that came out this

morning on on Tuesday uh first neuralink

human trial subject can control a

computer mouse with brain implant Elon

Musk says uh he says the neurol Link's

first human trial participant can

control a computer mouse with a brain

nearly one month after having the comp

company's ship implanted uh details

remain sparse and other companies

working on brain uh computer interfaces

appear to have so far cleared more

technological hurdles than neurolink um

I think that's what I think what it's

trying to say is it's not you know a new

idea but I I guess doing it on a

different scale um according to musk

progress is good patient seems to have

made a full recovery and is able to uh

control the mouse move the mouse around

the screen just by thinking um he said

on a

conversation on X basis uh philli what's

your what's your uh first impression

upon hearing the news that neurolink is

going ahead with human trials well look

I I think there's there's a lot of good

positive implications here for uh for

the technology World by embedding this

in in in the brain uh some of it has to

do with getting disabled people to be

able to walk Etc uh uh you know use use

a Limbs and and that kind of thing but

it also helps us augment ourselves uh

for people that are are losing brain

capacity losing memory capacity Etc so

for me I was really fired up when I

heard the news because I think this is

the direction that the the world is

going and and uh that humanity is going

and this is stuff that we need to be

able to help us advance in uh in the

future uh but it's not entirely A New

Concept is it I mean people have tried

to uh control either prosthetic limbs or

objects with just their thoughts before

that's right you know and there have

been devices that you strap on the top

of your head that that read brain waves

and brain patterns to be able to do

similar things I I had one that you

could use to control the mouse on the

screen it was very rudimentary it wasn't

as uh uh as direct as you'd like and it

it had a lot of transmission errors

right uh uh issues you'd see glitches

the the hope is that by embedding this

chip into the motor uh portion of the

cortex you're able to control it much

more directly and more quickly so I

think that's the exciting thing is that

getting it directly embedded so to me

it's uh I'm I'm fired up on this Tech is

this the start of a new I guess

transhumanist wave where we start

replacing body Parts with machines and

augment our physical and perhaps even

mental

abilities yeah it really is you know we

we've seen this in in the last few years

obviously in the Olympics and with uh

with Runners and stuff having different

types of uh of uh prosthetic Limbs and

uh and wondering if they they should be

able to compete in the the Olympics with

with Olympian with the uh uh nonis you

know the non-disabled Olympics because

uh their their prosthetic limbs actually

worked better than he so transhumanism

is here we're going to see it just

continue to change and morph Etc and

people that are augmented with this Tech

uh might have to compete in different

types of Olympics or a different type of

Jeopardy and things like those kind of

games right yeah well let's talk about

some of the use cases of uh something

like neuralink I mean the first thing

that comes to my mind is students of the

future will just be able to cheat on

exams I don't even know how they would

be able to right to invigilate exams if

everybody has a chip in their brain that

they can theoretically hook up to the

internet but I'll let you comment on

some practical use cases that we can

benefit from well I I think you know I I

think you're thinking exactly along

along the same lines as I am remember

all this uh this last year all the

controversy about the grand Masters

playing chess together and whether the

one was cheating with a uh you know all

the all the theories about how uh how

that one guy was cheating it was uh it

makes you wonder in the future if

somebody has a neuralink how will you

know know or how won't you know right if

you go to New York City and you want to

play chess against some of those Masters

outside how are you going to know who's

uh who's augmented and who's not it's

it's not going to be easy and so this is

uh this is the scary part about the

future is that you're not going to know

if you're comparing Apples to Apples

until uh you start doing brain scans for

people that come into the room and

that's just seems ludicrous and of

course there's security risk as well you

could in theory hack somebody's chip

therefore accessing a lot of information

yeah imagine right this concept of brain

jacking being somebody be able to to uh

uh getting through the loopholes getting

through the code on your brain and be

able to control what you do and what you

say imagine us right now if somebody

wanted to control what I was saying and

I was embedded with that they could do

it and suddenly I'm saying some really

wrong stuff on on an interview with

David Lynn to me this would be bad so

but there are great use cases for this

right I mean right look one one of the

most interesting things and you're right

about students uh is is that I I think

there ultimately needs to be an age

range for this type of augmentation when

people are in school you want them to be

able to form that ability to do critical

thinking rather than letting a chat GPT

or something like that that's running on

the mirror link be able to do all the

critical thinking for you this is

something that's CR that's important for

us as humans uh that's what separates us

from the animals is this ability to

critical think and so those type of of

Solutions are going to be coming for

this but I think to help augment people

that need it or ultimately to augment

you to so you perform at a higher

standard but to me uh right now I think

we we need to have some sort of age

range in there and disallow this from uh

from brains while they're forming to to

be augmented in this way but uh but the

use cases are are are staggering right

obviously controlling

limbs uh instead of a human computer

interface there's going to be a BCI and

a brain computer interface where you can

just sit there and think what you want

the computer to do think about the code

you want to write think about what

application you want to launch and it's

just going to launch and it's going to

make things so much faster and a

streamline us in a way that uh that

these outside things outside uh forces

are going to be largely be ignored

because we're in there and we're direct

directly accessing the computer it's

also going to uh uh separate us a lot

and make us more uh isolated in our

world but to me just this direct BCI is

going to be phenomenal let's take this

one step further how what happens if we

integrate something like neuralink with

Advanced

AI yeah it's going to remove all I look

I think the one of the first things that

we're going to see is that everybody's

gonna just just you know just think

about simple things like when you go

into a movie theater and uh and you walk

through it do you go up to the left or

do you go up the right right majority of

people go up to the right or go up to

the left it's just a natural thing uh

but a smaller percentage go to the right

think about a simple thing that your

brain does that tells you which

direction you should go when you enter a

building is it to the left or to the

right this is all going to be automated

uh if we're all using the same critical

thinking engine we're all going to go

the same direction we're all going to be

in sync which is going to be good and

bad right there the status quo will be

99% of the people doing the same thing

over and over and over again uh because

that's what's expected that's what this

this Advanced AI is telling us to do and

that's going to permeate through every

aspect of our lives and I that is one of

the scary parts if you can imagine a

scenario in which you could integrate

something like chat gbt directly into

your brain ship what would that look

like well for me I look I think one of

the things neural Link's going to

ultimately do and I'm not just saying

this because I used to run the App Store

but they're GNA have an app store right

for neural link and you're going to be

able to choose what apps you want to be

running on this thing and uh and be able

to use different engin different AI

engines Etc um but uh but for me uh an

interface like that is is is really

reminiscent if you look at what what

some of these AI pins are doing right

these pins you can do or the glasses if

you look at a company called brilliant

Labs that has this Frame that allows you

to to ask uh chat GPT what is this

object I'm looking at can I buy it

online Etc this is going to be one of

the first things that we see is that

there's going to be a if you embed this

in the proper place you're going to be

able to have Optical you're going to

have auditory faculties all inside

you're not going to be able to see

anything on the outside people aren't

going to know that Chad GPT or one of

these Advanced AIS is talking to you and

you'll be able to carry on full

conversations without uttering the words

yourself just thinking them this is

going to be the interaction of the

future right this is the brain computer

interaction is that ultimately it might

be communicating to your to your device

that you're carrying with you but for

the most part this interaction is going

to be completely silent and we're going

to have a lot of long pauses and

conversations with people because

something's telling them what to say or

telling them you know or or thinking

through the question that you asked but

they're going to have a dialogue back

and forth in their head with an AI

That's the future right uh are there any

ethical concerns that immediately pop

into your mind no uh there there are so

many there are so many concerns across

the board look I I think that like I

said earlier that one of the first

things I worry about is the age that at

which people start uh uh incorporating

this there's you brain the brain

continues to to to mold until you're

roughly 25 and then with neuroplasticity

and other effects like that you continue

to generate new brain uh uh lay lay new

brain wires if you will neurons Etc to

to learn new things so the first one is

when you can put this thing into your

brain uh I think some of the other ones

are uh is this the right thing to do for

Humanity I think it's going to be easy

it's a slippery slope going down this uh

this this uh Direction Where We start

putting this in and all of our abilities

to critically think just disappeared

because we're not taxing our brain

anymore who knows right this whole

concept of use it or lose it what will

happen to our brain matter if we start

using less and less and less of it

because what's going to happen with

technology ultimately is it's G to fail

on us right suddenly my BCI is not

communicating to my phone I uh do I go

get a new appointment if I've lost all

my ability to do simple things like

calling up my doctor to get a new

appointment to replace the the chip

that's in my head uh what I'm just gonna

people are going to just forget what to

do right now we have the same issue with

technology in general but it's just

going to get worse if we rely on this so

much I'm not a neuroscientist so excuse

me my questions seem riment but if I

were to let's say download some

information uh using a neuralink chip um

and then that information becomes part

of my memory okay um and then I have to

remove the chip for whatever reason do I

still retain uh those pieces of

information that I think for the most

part that the way our brain is trained I

don't think that's going to be happening

right I think for the most part the

memory will be on chip memory that you

can access that you can store Etc

because the the the chemicals that are

um that need to get released in order

for your brain to make to lay new memory

p ways is going to be difficult to do

with something like this now there is a

possibility of that happening I just

don't think that's going to be the the

the main Direction it's going to be

storing it on that chip and once you

remove that chip you lose all access but

honestly it's probably not going to be

Memory at all because these

communications are going to be fast

enough that you can constantly consult

uh the internet right for every uh every

answer there will be a database out

there somewhere that you can consult to

get an answer and so who needs to

memorize things when it's always

instantly accessible why go to medical

school and memorize books of procedures

and and and and Concepts when you can

just access and I mean I it kind of

defeats the purpose of a lot of our

traditional institutions if you think

about it going forward this is going to

be revolutionary in a good and bad way

that's right I I agree and it it makes

you wonder I mean will colleges will

Harvard allowing students that have uh

have chips in their head because they're

not really learning right they're just

it's memoriza it's not even memorization

it's just replaying something that an AI

is telling me um yeah it does come back

to the question of why I mean I could do

the exact same thing with my phone

except this would be faster uh except it

would be a little a little more

convenient uh philli it it also raises

the question of whether or not it would

divide Society you have the halves who

would be able to afford this and be able

to augment their physical and perhaps

even mental uh cognitive abilities and

then you have they have knobs have knots

who um you know just have to put up with

being human if that's even a bad thing

going

forward yeah this technology is not

going to be cheap right and uh so so

we're gonna have we're gonna have

multiple camps here we're gonna have the

people that want it the tech forward

people uh that can afford it that want

it and they're probably gonna have to

pay a monthly fee to to use it Etc right

they're the ones that are going to try

to advance society and that's going to

be the hals and then there's different

camps of Have Nots the ones that can't

afford it and the ones that are just

ethically predisposed to hate this thing

right and so we're going to have those

various camps that that do that and I

think the biggest ones are are are the

biggest issues are the ones between the

people that want it but can't afford it

the people that want it and can't afford

it and that separation is going to uh

significantly divide Society I think

this is a a very exclusionary technology

not everyone's going to be getting it uh

but those that that get it will probably

just continue to be able to advance

themselves Advance their Direction

Advance their career and Advance their

ability to make money which will further

that that that Gap right and I think

that's one of the most frightening

things about this okay uh let's move on

to another aspect of tech which is uh

the development of AI and its practical

uses that may or may not be harmful to

society so certainly your company is

working on a few security measures I

believe

to alleviate some of the um concerns

that people have around AI tell us more

about the work that you're doing yeah at

identity.com you we focus on a

decentralized identity approach and what

people often think about this is that

that we're running around wanting

everybody and every interaction on the

internet to be identified right as as a

person a and person B that we know their

driver's license number we know

everything about them and that's not the

case what we want to do we want to know

we want to ensure that uh trusted

transactions are carried out between

trusted individuals two trusted

individuals so for example if I want to

send money from one person to another or

if somebody is asking me on behalf of

their company or behalf of my company to

send money to another company I just

need to ensure that person is who they

say they are now what's happening what

we're seeing in the world is deep fake

Technologies which we've seen happened

over the course of the last few years

have uh have tricked people into sending

a large amounts of money from one from

their company to another random address

because they got a message from the CEO

or they sat down in a zoom call with the

CEO who told them to do this or the CFO

and we've seen this time and time again

and one of these one of these problems

is that these AIS and these these uh uh

deep fake type of Technologies are so

compelling and they're they look so real

that you can't differentiate one from

another um reality from this fake

reality and so what we believe is that

moving forward that every type of

interaction you have everything from

images that you inest uh pictures that

you take um all of that is something

that needs to be signed right it needs

to be signed cryptographically that says

this is a message from Philip Schumaker

Philip Schumaker swears that this

content is real Etc right and that's

something that that identity.com has

been working on with companies like

Adobe they have this thing called the

content authenticity initiative that

allows you to embed watermarks in images

in videos and audio to ensure that there

is a verifiable credential a credential

that says this is from Philip Shoemaker

and I think this is just the first step

we see these I don't if you saw what

what happened at that isaa high school

last week about these students that uh

that posted pictures that they just took

from Instagram from fellow students and

then sent through the nud Toy app and

then posted them everywhere as though

that person is posting new pictures of

themselves now in some cases these were

14y olds but you know age is important

here but also the Taylor Swift photos

from a few weeks earlier Etc there's a

lot of these things that what that that

you have to ask yourself what is the

value for these type of of services out

there fine you want to run a n toy

server on your and and do this for your

own personal enjoyment look there might

be ethical implications there but as

soon as you want to start posting things

you have to understand that this content

is unsigned there's nobody putting their

name behind it and therefore you

shouldn't believe that Tech and that's

the kind of thing we're building we're

building a technology and a world where

the only content you should ingest and

should trust is content you that is

signed by the author right something

like how do you sign in yeah so Adobe is

working with with uh companies like New

York Times and others but also with

camera manufacturers that you embed your

identity um as much of your identity as

you want into the camera and with each

photo you take it just embeds a

watermark into that photo so when you

trip when you send it around one there's

Providence you know who took this photo

right that that can handle royalty and

other things there but most importantly

that it's not created by an AI and so

this is a watermark that's just kind of

hidden if you want to know who who

access it you can drop it into a reader

that ultimately says oh yeah this is

this is was created by Philip Shoemaker

that he is who he says he is here's his

his uh decentralized identifier called a

did that you can dig in and be able to

get more information about him and so

things like this are ultimately going to

prove the Providence of uh of content

and that includes uh AI created content

I would love if mid journey and Dolly

and these other uh and Sora and these

other content creators will ultimately

embed uh a verifiable credential in

their output that says this was created

by an AI so it's IND so we know that

this assigned content but it was created

by an AI versus this assigned content

and it was created by David Lynn suppose

I create a fake interview with Philip

Shoemaker okay using deep fake um it's

obvious he's not signed by you nor

myself but how would people be able to

distinguish uh whether or not that's

real what are the tools or perhaps

indicators you could use to know whether

or not this is an authentic inter

interview if it is not signed because I

presumably this process would take some

time for All Digital content to have

some sort of signature right yeah right

now the way it works is that pretty much

no content is signed and uh if you want

to sign content you can do so using

adobe's tools uh ultimately by using

identity.com App Etc we are working on

an app to handle this as well but that

allows you to sign the content and

ultimately read it so when we're I see a

future where uh viewers uh uh Macs um

iPhones Etc will ultimately have a um a

Providence tab or an identity tab that

you just can tap on to be able to see

who is behind this this uh um this uh

content uh that is the that is the way I

see it working in the future is that all

readers zooms Etc we know where this is

like for example right now I'm talking

to you and I see it as coming from your

computer from your camera but who knows

what's in between this this uh uh

between the camera is it going through

something that uh that is putting an

avatar in your place that's replacing

your face Etc we ultimately be able need

to be able to see the Providence of that

camera to ensure that uh that it's that

that this data feed is not being

tampered with and that's how the tech

that's how deep this technology

ultimately has to go is we want

everything to be signed by the hardware

uh

ideally technology is going to become so

Advanced we're going to have to resort

back to the old times when we have to

sit face to face to ensure that we're

actually people can do this interview

face to face exactly we're advancing so

far that we have to go backwards uh

Phillip so uh not everything is signed

right now um and you're working on

digital signatures going forward but AI

could not replicate a digital signature

and fraudulently I guess Forge a

signature yeah so with with these

cryptographical methods cryptographic

methods we could ensure that uh the

technology can't be signed by anyone

other than me now what that means is

that I have a private key somewhere that

allows me to cryptographically sign an

image sign the data and then there's a

registry somewhere that you could see

what my signature is and and see if

that's the real Philip Shoemaker sure an

AI could create another Philip Shoemaker

that looks similar to me Etc but it

won't have that signature it won't be

part of the registry and people be able

to differentiate the two but you're

absolutely right I mean one of the big

problems that we have with this right

now is that what is identity right is uh

identity for most of us is a governmen

issued ID and uh if we can see that AIS

are now forging documents like this so

readily uh that uh that it's going to

make this even difficult so what do we

need here right do we need uh do we need

one company or one government to stand

up and say okay we're issuing

decentralized identi ifers right away as

soon as you're born Etc you're going to

get a decentralized identifier which

will carry with you for life uh it just

gets more and more complex right to

solve this problem and uh and you know

it's it's interesting to be involved in

this because we're always looking

forward we're always trying to get ahead

of what the scammers and the AIS are

going to ultimately try to

replace interesting well can we learn

more about identity.com in your work

yeah identity.com we founded this

company to be able to solve some of the

problems that people have there's you

know millions of people in the world

that don't have real identities uh their

country has uh has gone through War Etc

so they don't have an identity which

many of us take for granted and uh we

wanted to ensure that we could create a

nonprofit to be able to start issuing

decentralized digital identities to

people uh who are uh part of the Have

Nots right the people that don't have

those sorry what what is a decentralized

identity can you yeah a decentralized

identity if you think about a digital

identity a digital identity is typically

something that's issued to you from a

Facebook or an apple or a Google they

issue an identity that is stored in a

centralized database right so when I go

to Facebook I log in with Facebook they

have a centralized database of all of

their customers right everybody all

their identities are stored in these in

these uh uh identity honey Pots if you

will a decentralized identity means that

no data is ever stored on the web about

me it's stored only in my phone and if

somebody wants access to my information

let's say I I go apply for a loan at at

Chase Bank I can scan a code that says

uh here's my identity information I

immediately get a push notification on

my phone that says hey Phillip Chase

wants this information from you uh are

you willing to uh uh give them that

information and it lists out all the

information they give you it's it's a

self- sovereign type of approach and

you're like yes I'll give my social

security number because I'm applying for

a loan give my name my address Etc and

give them the access they need but when

it comes to something like hey this bar

wants you wants to know if you're over

21 uh it's a completely different

request if the bar is asking for my name

my phone number my address and my full

birth date I will say no because that's

too much information right that's data

leakage but the whole concept of

decentralized identity is that there's

an ad testation stored on a blockchain

somewhere that says yes this is Philip

sh's information it's been stored but

it's stored only on his phone it's not

stored on the blockchain we don't want

uh any pii stored on a chain in case

ultimately it can get hacked uh or or uh

you know these quantum computers can

ultimately decrypt it and so you want to

store this only on your device and so

all of my interactions involve me with

my Biometrics and ultimately my device

to prove I am who I say I am and the

data only is ever stored on my device

but why why would you want this only on

your on your phone as opposed to to

having multiple ID cards you know in

your wallet just as an example yeah so

the part of the problem with with having

it on your phone is that uh you can have

interaction there's interesting

technologies that could be used for a

decentralized identity first of all you

want it off of people's servers because

these centralized databases are are

honey pots right honey pots for the

hackers the hackers say hey if I break

into this into this one database I'll

have 10 million uh uh

pieces of information about about people

right 10 million identities whereas to

get my identity you have to steal my

phone physically and then hack my phone

which is also we know is a difficult uh

problem and so it's more of a onetoone

attack that's why you want it on your

own phone versus a centralized Honeypot

but why do I want it on my phone versus

carrying around a bunch of cards part of

the reason is that you want to go

through a kyc process only once you

don't want to do it over and over and

over again right if you if you go to

gambling webs sites or if you do stock

stocks or or crypto trading at all you

have to authenticate yourself at every

exchange you go to Every gambling site

you go to all of these things you always

have to authenticate yourself but that

just means that more and more pictures

of your ID are floating around out there

that people have access to you want to

do it once on your device that's only a

conversation between you and your

computer you and your device and then

ultimately you can use that device to

have uh just the information needed to

log you into a service to access a

service to send a wire Etc just through

your phone and only the little amount of

information necessary and that's why you

want it on your

device um what if I'm a criminal and I

want to make a fake ID and store it on

my phone would you prevent that from

happening or how would you prevent that

from happening yeah for the most part

the way these these uh identity Services

work is they uh they look at your your

ID first of all they they scan your you

ultimately have to go through one kyc

process right so you scan that first ID

and this is where the criminal will

they'll create a fake ID and they'll

scan it and our Technologies and the

Technologies we leverage from other

companies as well we'll look for the

watermarks they will look to make sure

it's a current document they'll up

they'll look at all the information and

then they'll ultimately read all the

data that's on there they'll compare

your face to the face that's on the ID

and then they'll compare all the data to

backend service backend databases right

we're we're all online somewhere so

Equifax uh TransUnion and all of these

folks are uh uh are the datab are these

uh uh giant databases of credit that

ultimately need to get access to

determine if you are who you say you are

if the data on the ID matches uh any

sort of the backend databases Etc so it

does a check there as well um but look

there's still there's still a problem

with synthetic IDs and that's uh uh

that's where AI Mash together things

like uh somebody that's recently passed

uh that hasn't been inter into any

databases and then they shove your name

on top of the ID Etc but there's a uh we

combat it with AI as well a lot of these

these identity companies on fedo and

others use AIS to be able to really look

closely at your ID to make sure it's not

fake and then do a lot of analysis of

the data that's on there to ensure that

it Ma matches with backend databases to

ensure that it's not just a a synthetic

identity okay perfect well appreciate

your time Phillip and uh we'll put the

links down below so people can follow

your work and we'll speak again next

time appreciate your time that's great

thank you gab and thank you for watching

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