You’re Real. Prove It. Inside World ID and the Fight for Digital Identity

The internet was built on trust. Now it assumes you’re a bot.

As AI-generated content floods every platform and bots learn to pass every test, proving you're human has become harder than ever. CAPTCHAs fail. ID checks invade privacy. And platforms are collecting more of your data just to confirm you’re real — while using that data to train the next generation of AI.

Ajay Patel, Head of World ID at Tools for Humanity, joins Mark and Jeremy to Think on Paper about how identity might be rebuilt for the AI age. From iris biometrics and zero-knowledge proofs to decentralized systems that verify you without exposing you, this episode digs into one question: if we can’t prove who’s real online, what kind of internet are we left with?

Please enjoy the show. And share with a curious friend.

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Timestamps

(00:00) Intro: Future of Digital Identity & AI Challenges

(01:15) Meet Ajay Patel: Head of World ID at Tools for Humanity

(01:44) WorldID: Why Digital Identity Matters in the Age of AI

(05:40) Global Digital Identity for 8 Billion Humans

(07:38) AI in 2025: How Advanced is AI Really?

(08:17) AI Bypassing CAPTCHA: The Security Crisis

(12:54) ZK Proofs Explained: Privacy-Preserving Tech Behind World ID

(15:20) How World ID’s Iris Scan Works (No Data Stored!)

(18:54) World ID Data Security: Breaking Down Multi-Party Computation

(22:56) Hot Button Q&A: Apple vs Android, AGI Threats, & More

(24:19) World ID Use Cases: Gaming, Voting, & Anti-Bot Systems

(25:13) Exclusive: World ID x Razer to End Gaming Cheats

(30:56) AI Hype vs Reality: Are Bots Just “Yes Men on Servers”?

(35:35) Decentralizing World ID: Open Protocol, No Corporate Control

(38:15) Question for Next Guest: Hollywood’s David Bianchi on AI & Art

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Thank you for Thinking On Paper. Your future self will thank you.