- Charles Hoskinson highlights how Midnight Passport could help reveal people hiding behind virtual personas.
- The Cardano and Midnight founder’s comments follow the growing trend of AI girlfriends, which malicious actors are increasingly exploiting to carry out fraudulent transactions.
Charles Hoskinson, founder of Cardano (ADA) and Midnight (NIGHT), recently commented on the growing use of artificial intelligence (AI) to deceive people. It follows the growing popularity of the Nevermet online dating platform, which tricks people into having online relationships with artificial identities.
Key Features of Nevermet
Nevermet is a dating and social networking app connecting people through the metaverse and virtual reality (VR). It uses avatar-based identities, allowing users to hide their physical appearances behind their virtual personas.
Nevermet has been transparent in its business model. However, many people have raised concerns about the high level of realism users employ in their avatars. They worry that such technology could give malicious actors a significant edge in carrying out fraudulent activities.
It’s increasingly apparent that many users are no longer using these tools solely for entertainment or human connection. In addition, the highly realistic avatars are now being used as objects for manipulation or fraud.
Despite Nevermet being clear about its users’ heavy use of avatars, Mario Nawfal, an entrepreneur, podcaster, and influencer, claimed that some individuals are taking their interactions to another level. He revealed that many people are now engaging in relationships with girls they’ve only known online.
Moreover, the internet personality reminded his audience that the AI deepfake technology has “advanced a lot.” Given that, he urged them to insist on an in-person meeting ASAP with people they have grown attached to online, as these could only be AI girlfriends.
Midnight Passport Vs AI Girlfriends
Nafwal’s post caught Hoskinson’s attention. It prompted the Cardano and Midnight founder to comment that Midnight Passport could easily prevent people from falling victim to AI deception.
Midnight is a sidechain running parallel to Cardano. It elevates itself from ADA’s chain with its privacy-focused network and specialized smart contract capabilities. One of its key features is the Midnight Passport, which essentially works as a decentralized identity tool.
Midnight Passport allows users to prove their identity using on-chain verifiable credentials, with their privacy secured by zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). These credentials include their digital wallets and identity proofs or soulbound tokens.
Hoskinson’s statement clearly points to a future in which decentralized solutions are no longer just for crypto and tokenization, but also for proving one’s humanity.
