Alex Blania on Proof of Human and Building World's Identity Network

In this episode of The a16z Show, host Ben Horowitz speaks with Alex Blania, co-founder and CEO of World, about the urgent challenge of proving human identity in the age of advanced AI. As AI agents become increasingly capable of mimicking human behavior—running social media accounts, generating persuasive content, and even impersonating individuals in real-time video calls—the need for a reliable 'proof of human' layer has become critical. Blania explains that World is building a global network of verified humans using a custom hardware device called the Orb, which leverages iris biometrics and privacy-preserving technologies like multi-party computation and zero-knowledge proofs to ensure uniqueness without compromising anonymity. The company has already verified 18 million users and is now pivoting to scale in the U.S., aiming to deploy Orbs through partnerships with major retailers, coffee shops, and even mobile 'Orb-on-demand' services. The discussion highlights how the absence of such verification threatens democracy, social media, financial systems, and personal relationships, with AI-driven fraud and deepfakes poised to explode in scale and realism within the next year. Blania argues that proof of human isn't just a tech problem—it's a foundational infrastructure need for the future of digital society.