At the Web3 Summit 2025 in Berlin, Gavin Wood, the founder of Polkadot, presented his plans for the implementation of a personal identity verification system known as Proof of Personhood. This initiative aims to address identity verification challenges in the context of artificial intelligence advancement.
What is Proof of Personhood?
Proof of Personhood (PoP) is a personalized solution designed to enable decentralized human verification on-chain. During his speech on July 17 at Web3 Summit 2025, Wood discussed how this system would be launched.
Debut of Polkadot's Individuality System
Polkadot's individuality system will involve the implementation of DIM1 (Proof of Individuality) and DIM2 (Proof of Verified Individuality). The PoP launch will be supported by a treasury proposal of $3 million, although the exact implementation date has not been disclosed. Aiming to introduce 'the fairest airdrop', it is expected to be part of the launch.
Trust and Decentralized Identity in the AI Era
During the 'Trust' panel at the Summit, Ian Grigg, a financial cryptographer, noted that trust cannot be completely assured by technology, as it inherently involves emotion and context. He emphasized the importance of understanding who or what is being trusted, which is not achievable without human insight.
Gavin Wood's Proof of Personhood concept represents a significant advancement in addressing identity verification challenges on the blockchain, considering the threats posed by AI advancements. Expert views indicate that decentralized identity is intertwined with trust, which cannot be fully replicated by technology.
