Sebastian (@theidentityguy) • Hey

Publications

Web 3 Frens, did you know that you can build an on chain ERC-20 airdrop with Polygon ID? Our ZK identity proofs can be verified on-chain! I can imagine many powerful applications that could be built with EVM compatible and fully open source Polygon ID stack. Check out the tutorial here: https://0xpolygonid.github.io/tutorials/verifier/on-chain-verification/overview/
**Proof of Humanity, Uniqueness and Reputation** Yesterday I had some interesting discussions on a DID forum. The topic was how we can create trust in users of an app (i.e: how we issue credentials users before they decide to meet in person after using a dating app so each party can trust the other before taking the risk.) So, how do we build individual reputation? I stated the following: *Humanity < Uniqueness < Reputation* What this means is - first we need to trust that you are a user (not a bot) - proof of humanity. That should be the first filter to avoid scammers and bots on the app. Usually this is proven during the onboarding of the user into the app (with things as simple as captcha or more sophisticated as video recording) Obviously, that doesn't proof anything about your intentions. In fact, it's impossible to assess your intentions - **the best we can do is to mimic the reputation models that we have in the real world** - or in other online reputation models that DO work (like the reviews for hotels and restaurants). The common factor in these 2 cases (real world people and online business) is that they can't remove their past actions and behaviors' from their history. There is no "reset" button for your reputation when it's attached to **your identity**. And that's the key - your identity should be UNIQUE and permanent. Reputation system don't work if you can just create another account and start again. That's why any online reputation model for individuals has to rely on Proof of Uniqueness - the proof that, as a person, I can only have one account in this app. If I try to create a second account, the system will detect that it's me again and will not allow it. The only way to achieve this is through the combination of national ID and biometrics - the same process used by banks and other institutions to comply with the KYC regulations (Know your customer). But reputation is bigger than your biometric hash - reputation is the aggregation of multiple sources of attestation, each one with their own reputation. Reputation could be just an scoring system (by all the people that has met you in person) or something more complex that assigns different "weights" to the scoring of each individual based on their own reputation. That's why I still think that statement is valid: Reputation is only possible when we have unique identities. We can't proof good intentions (we can't do that in the real world either) - but giving people something to loose is the best way prevent wrongdoing.
Random thoughts #2 - **How AI and 3D printing could transform our urban landscapes** **IF this is true** - When we look to our urban landscapes full of man-made objects (trash bins, street lights, fences, windows...) and compare that to the natural elements in the same cities (trees, plants, animals, soil), there is a boring uniformity in the manufactured objects. - Our industrial techniques limit what is possible to build at scale - only straight lines, symmetric objects, repetitive textures. The only way to overcome this is by using some natural elements like stone or wood (stealing from nature what we can't build at scale). - Why every street light is exactly equal to the others in one street? Trees wouldn't be identical. It's not a feature, it's a constraint. - AI has the potential to design infinite number of variations of the same street light (all viable to security standards). 3D Printing has the potential to create uniqueness at scale. Blockchain could keep track of every single variation in a global inventory. **THEN this could happen** - We could see uniqueness at scale. Every single object made unique following the instructions of an AI and printed on demand. --- Who would own the design of that object? Can regular objects be considered pieces of art?