The Rise of AI Avatars: A Threat to Human Digital Identities
The Rise Of The AI Influencer
TikTok announced recently it was testing a new in-app tool that lets users utilize AI to generate avatar images. These photos can be submitted to create unique images in range of poses and styles. These images can be downloaded, shared, or used as a custom profile picture.
The straightforward tool can enable anyone with a visually interesting avatar that they cannot create themselves. Furthermore, it’s free and nearly instantaneous, empowering creativity, lowering the barrier to access. That’s a noble idea and solid in theory, but it’s the beginning.
Another recent revelation from TikTok reveals the platform is exploring creating AI-driven influencers promoting brands, talking about various topics, or conversing about various subjects—the same as human influencers, sans the human aspect.
AI influencers aren’t new as prominent profiles like Imma. and Shudu. have achieved hundreds of thousands of followers. Digitally crafted influences have typically cost more to deploy than natural human beings. That’s changing dramatically. Tools like ChatGPT and more are making it affordable for anyone with a few sentences to create high-quality AI content. There’s no reason to hypothesize this trend will slow down or stop.
Blockchain Can Save Us from AI
We have to accept there’s no going back, while designing an approach for moving forward. This is when blockchain can support us. Instead of focusing on what is allowed to be generated content, a system can be created to discover the content’s original source.
Whether it be real or a bot, consumers can acknowledge where content originated and make information decisions about how they interact with it. A system like this is especially indispensable given the importance social media has. Marketing strategist and bestselling author Mark Schaefer believes we’re on the cusp of a profound moment in business.
“From now onwards, the number one question our customers will face is, ‘Is this actual?’ Businesses must spare no investment protecting their brand, executives, or people from deep fakes. And I think blockchain has to play a dominant role in this as a source of truth—a way to verify what’s taken place,” Schaefer said
Recently at Davos, leaders were discussing about whether blockchain can be used to track, sort out, and manage the data that AIs consume. Sheila Warren, the Executive Director of the Crypto Council for Innovation (CCI), stated, saying, “I actually do think there will be blockchain-driven and block-chain-backed verification of human AI and the checks and balances.” This is a good start for defining trustworthy autonomous identities, but what for untrustworthy ones?
Decentralized technology can prove credentials in a fully verifiable and unconditional manner, due to the immutability of these networks. Blockchains cannot physically be hacked or manipulated, and any adjustment made to them is always visible to all components.
Beyond the AI Avatars
Conclusion
If built correctly, such a solution could allow us to navigate this remarkable new world of AI in a way to retain individual privacy, the freedom for people to choose human sources, the ability for people to make a living because of content creation. Along the way will be many details to navigate, but only blockchain and digital identities provide credible means to protect consumers and the human world. This is a step we need to progress soon because the speed of AI developmental isn’t slowing down. Then, there is an opportunity for a more extensive and safer internet for the next generation & beyond.
