Following WorldCoin’s (WLD) attempts at Proof of Humanity (PoH) verification, Polygon Labs teams up with Animoca Brands and The Human Institute to launch the palm-recognition blockchain, Humanity Protocol.
The Humanity Protocol account on X (formerly Twitter) announced its launch on February 20, linking to a post on Medium. Notably, the article has a press release dated “February 20, 2023,” despite being posted on this same day in 2024.
Moreover, the release mentions Polygon Labs and Animoca Brands as partners of the Human Institute in this endeavor. Polygon Labs is Polygon’s (MATIC) developer, and Animoca Brands is a known venture capital institution active in the crypto market.
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Animoca Brands have pronounced on X, validating the partnership.
Who is the Human Institute?
However, there is not enough information available about the Human Institute despite being described as “a leading organization.” The Human Institute seems to be a recently created institution to develop the Humanity Protocol, as described on its website:
“The emergence of artificial intelligence will have far-reaching consequences for all facets of humanity. Human Institute seeks to empower all humans with science, technology, and capital. We are building Humanity Protocol as the first truly sybil-resistant network of blockchains.”
– The Human Institute
Humanity protocol and palm-recognition verification
The release described Humanity Protocol’s “User-centric palm recognition” as a revolutionary technology for Proof of Humanity consensus validation. Yat Siu, co-founder and executive chairman of Animoca Brands, emphasized:
“Existing Proof-of-Personhood technologies can be invasive, complex, or burdensome. By leveraging the cutting-edge technology using non-invasive biometrics that lies at the core of the Proof-of-Humanity consensus mechanism, Humanity Protocol is building a user-centric ecosystem that can onboard millions to a verifiable digital identity solution that is truly decentralized and respects the principles of true digital ownership, in the process enabling better equity and inclusion for all participants.”
– Yat Siu
Interestingly, the announcement teases future rewards for users who can prove their humanity by the palm-recognition model. This is a similar approach to what Worldcoin introduced in 2023 through the eyeball’s scan. In August, experts raised privacy concerns related to WLD’s ID system.
