ZKP: Ключ к безопасному взаимодействию в эре искусственного интеллекта Translation: ZKP: The Key to Safe Interaction in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

The technology of zero-knowledge proofs (ZKP) is poised to lead us into a new era of trustworthy artificial intelligence and digital identification, as expressed by CEO Evin McMullen of Billions Network.

It will empower individuals and organizations to interact securely and transparently across various platforms.

As AI agents become more prevalent, individuals are increasingly required to provide biometric data to prove they’re not bots.

If personal data is exposed, machines could exploit it, for instance, by impersonating real individuals. This could disrupt systems designed to filter out «non-human» users.

This situation has created an «arms race»: the more thorough the verification process, the greater the risk of data leaks into the public domain.

McMullen argues that it is unacceptable to demand transparency from individuals while accepting opacity from machines. Both bots and online users require more effective identity verification methods.

Gathering biometric data and forming centralized registries is not a viable solution, as such databases are inevitably attractive targets for cybercriminals.

The lack of reliable identity verification mechanisms for artificial intelligence poses significant challenges. As long as AI agents can impersonate humans, manipulate markets, or execute unauthorized transactions, enterprises will hesitate to widely adopt autonomous systems.

McMullen emphasized that LLMs become more hazardous after fine-tuning — they produce harmful or undesirable responses 22 times more often than original «base» neural networks.

Hacking, or bypassing built-in security systems through jailbreaking, is also easier with these fine-tuned solutions.

If a service cannot identify who is interacting with it, any engagement with AI becomes a potential risk of data leakage or unauthorized use.

Legitimate AI systems require verifiable credentials to participate in the emerging «agent-agent» economy. If a trading bot conducts a transaction with another bot, both parties must trust each other’s identity and accountability systems.

From the human perspective, the situation is also flawed. Traditional identity verification systems often lead to massive data leaks, enable authoritarian surveillance, and generate billions in revenue for corporations from selling personal information without compensating the data owners.

People are unwilling to share personal data, yet regulatory requirements compel them to do so.

Zero-knowledge proofs could serve as a means for both humans and AI to validate their credentials without the risk of misuse.

ZKPs allow subjects to verify specific claims without disclosing the underlying data. Examples:

«ZKPs could completely change the landscape by enabling us to prove who we are without sharing confidential data. However, their adoption is still progressing slowly,» noted McMullen.

The technology remains a niche solution within a gray regulatory area and is largely unknown to the general public. Furthermore, companies profiting from personal data collection are not incentivized to integrate ZKPs.

Nevertheless, more agile players in the identification market are beginning to adopt zero-knowledge technologies, McMullen pointed out.

«As regulatory standards emerge and awareness increases, ZKPs could lay the foundation for a new era of reliable AI and digital identification. This technology will allow individuals and organizations to interact securely and transparently with platforms,» the expert added.

Generative AI could potentially add trillions of dollars to the global economy annually, yet a significant portion of this potential remains unrealized due to barriers related to identity verification:

«ZKP-based identification systems meet all the above requirements while ensuring privacy and autonomy,» stated McMullen.

Additionally, the technology can address the growing issue of deepfakes. Each piece of content can be linked to a verified creator without disclosing their identity.

It is worth noting that in July, digital identification cards were introduced in China.