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TRUST IDENTITY PROTOCOL (TIP™) · FREE & OPEN

Know who created it.
Trust what you see, hear, and read.

TIP is a free, open protocol that lets real people prove their identity and label their content honestly - text, video, audio, images, podcasts, articles, and anything on the internet. The specification is open forever. Anyone can implement it. Anyone can run a node. No permission needed.

Request a Pilot
📖 Spec: CC-BY 4.0 - free forever
💻 Code: free for individuals, nonprofits, educators, journalists & governments
🌐 Network: anyone can run a full node
🛡️ Protected: patented technology, royalty-free license included for all free-tier users
THE PROBLEM WE ARE SOLVING
90%
of all online content predicted to have AI involvement by 2026
4.7×
increase in AI-generated misinformation incidents year on year
0
reliable ways for a reader to verify a human wrote something, until now

AI can now generate indistinguishable text, images, video, and audio at near-zero cost. No human can reliably detect it by looking alone. TIP does not try to win an arms race against AI detectors; it creates a system where creators sign and declare the origin of their content before publishing. The burden of proof shifts from the reader to the creator, where it belongs.

🛡
For Individuals

Get a verified Trust ID that proves you are a real, unique person. Post content with a signed origin label. Build a public trust score based on your honest track record. Your data stays private - always.

For Creators

Label your work as human-created, AI-assisted, AI-generated, Mixed. Protect your reputation with cryptographic proof. Let your audience know exactly what they are reading, watching, or hearing.

For Developers & Node Operators

Implement the open spec in any language. Add TIP headers to your site in 5 minutes. Run a full node to strengthen the network. No permission required. The protocol is CC-BY 4.0 - free forever.

WHAT TIP LOOKS LIKE ON REAL PLATFORMS
X.COM
@JohnSmithNews892
tip://id/US-js4a8b2c1d9e7f30
Investigative Reporter · 2h

BREAKING: EU AI Act enforcement begins August 2. Here is what every platform needs to know about content provenance.

OHOriginal HumanVERIFIED
tip://c/OH-8a3c7f1b2e9d4a-js4a
FACEBOOK
Sarah Chen, MD718
tip://id/US-sc7e3a1d8f2b4c90
Medical Researcher · 5h

New research: AI-generated medical advice is now indistinguishable from real doctors. Full analysis with verified citations.

AAAI-AssistedVERIFIED
tip://c/AA-4f1b9c3d7e2a8f-sc7e
YOUTUBE
TechExplained654
tip://id/US-te2a9b3c7d1e5f40
1.8M subscribers · 3 days ago

How Quantum Computing Will Change Encryption Forever (AI-generated explainer, human research and script)

AGAI-GeneratedVERIFIED
tip://c/AG-2d7e5a1c8f3b9d-te2a

Unlike platform checkmarks (X Blue, Meta Verified), TIP badges prove biometric human identity + scored trust history. Not a payment.

TIP FOR IMAGES : VERIFY VISUAL CONTENT
INSTAGRAM
@NatGeoPhoto945
tip://id/US-ng45a8b2c1d9e7f0
Nature Photographer · 1h
sunrise alps
sunrise_alps_2026.jpg

Golden hour at 4,200m. No filters, no AI enhancement just patience and freezing hands.

OHOriginal HumanVERIFIED
tip://c/OH-7b2f9e4a1c8d3f-ng45
X.COM
@DigitalArtist_AI412
tip://id/UK-da12c4e5f6a7b8d0
AI Artist · 3h
cyberpunk tokyo
cyberpunk_tokyo_v3.png

Latest piece: Cyberpunk Tokyo 2077. Fully AI-generated using Midjourney v7. Prompt and seed included.

AGAI-GeneratedVERIFIED
tip://c/AG-3e8f1a2b5c7d9e-da12
FACEBOOK
Reuters Graphics870
tip://id/US-rg70b3c4d5e6f7a0
News Agency · 30m
climate infographic
climate_infographic_2026.jpg

Infographic: Global temperature trends 2020-2026. Human research, AI-assisted chart generation and layout.

AAAI-AssistedVERIFIED
tip://c/AA-9c1d2e3f4a5b6c-rg70

Every image carries a TIP content label viewers instantly know if a photo is original, AI-enhanced, or fully AI-generated.

TIP FOR VIDEO : VERIFY MOVING CONTENT
YOUTUBE
BBC News980
tip://id/UK-bbc1a2b3c4d5e6f0
News · 2h ago
live_report_parliament.mp4
12:34 · 1080p

Live report from Parliament: New AI regulation bill passes first reading. Unedited footage, on-location crew.

OHOriginal HumanVERIFIED
tip://c/OH-5a6b7c8d9e0f1a-bbc1
TIKTOK
@SynthWave_Studio530
tip://id/US-sw53a1b2c3d4e5f0
AI Creator · 6h ago
ai_avatar_explainer.mp4
0:58 · 1080p

How AI deepfakes work explained by my AI avatar. Fully generated voice, face, and script by AI tools.

AGAI-GeneratedVERIFIED
tip://c/AG-8d9e0f1a2b3c4d-sw53
VIMEO
FilmCraft Studios760
tip://id/US-fc76a2b3c4d5e6f0
Production House · 1 day ago
brand_commercial_draft.mp4
2:15 · 4K

Brand commercial human-directed, AI-assisted VFX and color grading. Real actors, AI-enhanced post-production.

AAAI-AssistedVERIFIED
tip://c/AA-2f3a4b5c6d7e8f-fc76

From news footage to AI-generated clips, TIP labels every video with its true origin so viewers always know what they are watching.

HOW THE PROTOCOL WORKS
01
Verify your identity
Complete a one-time verification using your government ID and a 3D liveness check. Your raw biometrics are never stored. You get a portable, quantum-safe TIP-ID.
02
Label your content
When you publish, declare how you made it: Original Human, AI-Assisted, AI-Generated, or Mixed. Sign that declaration with your TIP-ID. It becomes immutable.
03
Build your trust score
Every piece of verified content adds to your public trust score (0 to 1000). Honest behaviour earns trust over time. Misrepresentation has escalating consequences.

The protocol is open-source and free for individuals, journalists, nonprofits, governments, and small businesses. Anyone can run a node. Anyone can verify a badge.

HOW TIP PROTOCOL WORKS - LIVE URI FLOW
🪪
1. Verify identity
TRUST ID URI
tip://id/US-a3f8c91b2d4e7021
US = ISO 3166-1 region
a3f8...7021 = SHAKE-256(public_key)[:16]
4-layer biometric scan
Video deleted immediately
📝
2. Stamp content
CONTENT ID URI
tip://c/OH-7f2a91bc3d5e4a-a3f8
OH = origin (OH/AA/AG/MX)
7f2a...5e4a = SHAKE-256(content)[:14]
a3f8 = author TIP-ID suffix
Fingerprint + origin label
Recorded on public DAG
3. Anyone verifies
VERIFICATION
Content hash matches original
Author TIP-ID is verified human
Origin: OH (Original Human)
Timestamp: before publication
VERIFIED HUMAN AUTHOR
2 seconds - no account needed
No company to trust - just math
Platforms integrate with 4 HTTP headers - no SDK required
AN OPEN NETWORK THAT BELONGS TO EVERYONE
Like the internet itself - no single point of control

TIP Protocol is a federated network. The specification is permanently open (CC-BY 4.0). Anyone can implement it in any language. Anyone can run a node that strengthens the network. No permission required.

📖
Read the spec
CC-BY 4.0 - free forever. Read, implement, teach, publish. No payment. No permission.
🌐
Run a node
Python 3.11+ or Node.js 18+. Full copy of the trust ledger. Free. No accreditation required.
🔧
Build on TIP
SDKs for JavaScript, Python, Rust, Go. REST API with no API key for reads. Build anything.
🏛
Become a VP
Institutions can become Verification Providers - issue verified credentials to their community.
GitHub: github.com/theailaborg/tip-protocol · Spec: spec/TIP_Protocol_Specification_v4.0.md
TIP IN ACTION
What TIP looks like in the real world

Every TIP interaction produces two types of permanent, resolvable URI. Understanding their anatomy makes the whole system readable at a glance.

THE TWO TIP URI TYPES: ANATOMY
IDENTITY URI · TIP-ID
tip://id/US-js4a8b2c1d9e7f30
tip://: Protocol scheme: signals this is a TIP network address
id: Resource type: 'id' for identity, 'c' for content
US: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code of the verifying VP's jurisdiction
js4a8b2c1d9e7f30: 16-character truncated hash of the ML-DSA-65 public key. Uniquely identifies this TIP-ID on the network. Never changes after registration.
RESOLVED VIA
GET /v1/identity/tip%3A%2F%2Fid%2FUS-js4a8b2c1d9e7f30
CONTENT URI · CTID
tip://c/OH-7f2a91bc3d5e4a-dm9f
c: Resource type: content provenance record
OH: Origin code: OH Original Human · AA AI-Assisted · AG AI-Generated · MX Mixed. Declared by creator, signed, immutable.
7f2a91bc3d5e4a: 14-character fragment of the SHAKE-256 hash of the published content (per patent spec [HASH14]). Changes if the content changes, making tampering detectable.
dm9f: Author fingerprint: first 4 chars of the creator's TIP-ID. Links this content record permanently to its author.
RESOLVED VIA
GET /v1/content/tip%3A%2F%2Fc%2FOH-7f2a91bc3d5e4a-js4a
EXAMPLE 1 · ORIGINAL HUMAN · INVESTIGATIVE ARTICLE
Origin: OH★ Founding member

John Smith publishes an investigative piece. He wrote every word himself, with no AI tools used. He selects Original Human, signs with his TIP-ID, and submits. Here is the complete TIP trail a reader, journalist, or platform can independently verify.

① SERVER SENDS (HTTP RESPONSE HEADERS)
TIP-Author: tip://id/US-js4a8b2c1d9e7f30
TIP-Content: tip://c/OH-7f2a91bc3d5e4a-js4a
TIP-Origin: original-human
TIP-Trust-Score: 892
TIP-Tier: HIGHLY_TRUSTED
TIP-Signature: ML-DSA-65 sig…
② API RETURNS (CTID RESOLUTION)
{
"ctid": "tip://c/OH-7f2a91bc3d5e4a-js4a",
"origin_code": "OH",
"origin_label": "Original Human",
"status": "verified",
"author_tip_id": "tip://id/US-js4a8b2c1d9e7f30",
"author_score": 892,
"dispute_count": 0,
"dag_tx": "REGISTER_CONTENT"
}
③ WHAT THE READER SEES (ARTICLE BYLINE)
J
John Smith★ FOUNDING
tip://id/US-js4a8b2c1d9e7f30· Global News
892
HIGHLY TRUSTED
OH
Original Human
VERIFIED
Verification passes. The AI classifier found no mismatch with the OH declaration. Score +6 applied after verification cycle. Content is permanently recorded on the DAG as VERIFIED.
ALL TRANSACTION TYPES WRITTEN TO THE DAG
v1 core types · v2 privacy & governance types (★)
REGISTER_IDENTITY
When you first verify. Permanent. Contains your public key, ZK dedup proof, and VP signature.
REGISTER_CONTENT
Each time you publish and sign. Contains CTID, origin code, content hash.
CONTENT_VERIFIED
Community verification that content matches declared origin. Adds to trust score.
CONTENT_DISPUTED
Dispute filed by VP, platform, or pre-scan. Triggers adjudication pipeline.
ADJUDICATION_RESULT
Jury verdict outcome. Recorded permanently. Triggers SCORE_UPDATE.
SCORE_UPDATE
Trust score delta after verification cycle. Computed deterministically by all nodes.
REVOKE_VOLUNTARY
User self-initiated TIP-ID surrender. Score archived. New TIP-ID starts at 500.
REVOKE_VP
VP-initiated with cause. Score zeroed. All content within 90 days auto-disputed.
REVOKE_DECEASED
VP-initiated on death certificate. Permanent. Content preserved, author shown as [Verified, Deceased].
REVOKE_DEVICE
Device credential rotation only. TIP-ID, score, and content history all unaffected.
MERKLE_ROOT_PUBLISHED
★ v2 · Dedup registry Merkle root published every 6 hours. Auditability without hash exposure.
UPDATE_DISPLAY_MODE
★ v2 · User changes GDPR score visibility (FULL_PUBLIC / TIER_ONLY / VERIFIED_ONLY). Consent on DAG.
HISTORY_ERASED
★ v2 · GDPR Art.17 erasure record. Score history removed. Content provenance preserved.
JURISDICTION_ADVISORY
★ v2 · VP warrant canary expired or tier downgraded. All VPs at risk auto-flagged.
SCORE_ZK_PROOF_ISSUED
★ v2 · Record of ZK score threshold proof sent to a relying party. Score not revealed.

Every transaction is signed by the relevant party (creator, VP, or The AI Lab), gossip-broadcast to all nodes via TCP (port 4001), and appended to the Merkle DAG. The Merkle root is published every 6 hours. No transaction can be deleted or modified.

THE FIVE TRUST TIERS: WHAT THE COLOURS MEAN

Every AI Trust ID badge displays a score from 0 to 1000 and a tier colour. Both update in real time as a creator publishes and their content is verified. You can see any creator's current tier on their badge without needing to understand the full score.

850 - 1000Highly Trusted
Exceptional long-term record. Years of consistent, honest origin declarations with zero adjudicated mismatches. The gold border founding variant indicates a Genesis Block member.
650 - 849Trusted
Established credibility. Consistent verified history with accurate origin labelling. The baseline standard for credible content publishing.
400 - 649Verified
Identity confirmed by an accredited Verification Provider. No violations on record. The default starting tier for all newly verified identities. Trust is built over time through consistent honest declarations.
200 - 399Caution
Mislabelling incidents or unresolved disputes on record. Content warrants closer reading. Trust can be rebuilt through consistent honest behaviour over time.
0 - 199Not Trusted
Severe or repeated violations confirmed by adjudication. Identity may be suspended or revoked. Do not rely on provenance claims from this identity.
WHERE DO YOU FIT IN?
I'm a reader or viewer
1Look for the AI Trust ID™ badge on articles and videos
2Click the badge to see the creator's full verification record
3Install the free browser extension to see badges everywhere you browse
4Higher score = more verified history = more confidence in the content
I'm a creator or journalist
1Register at theailab.org (takes about 10 minutes)
2Complete the three-step verification (ID + liveness + device biometric)
3When publishing, select your content's origin label and sign it
4Your badge and score grow with every piece of honestly labelled content
I'm building a platform
1Start with Tier 0: add four HTTP headers to your server config
2Display TIP badges next to author names using the badge widget
3Integrate deeper with the SDK to verify provenance server-side
4Apply to become an accredited Verification Provider for your users
FOR INSTITUTIONS & ORGANISATIONS

Run a Node. Become a
Verification Provider.

TIP is a federated network. Like the internet itself, it has no single point of control. Governments, banks, universities, publishers, and biometric companies can participate as infrastructure providers, running nodes that strengthen the network and earning the right to issue verified credentials to their own communities.

TIER 5 · TIP NODE OPERATOR
Run a TIP Node

A TIP node is a server running The AI Lab's open-source reference implementation. It participates in the federated DAG, storing a copy of the trust ledger, validating new transactions, and answering badge verification queries. No accreditation required. Free to deploy.

WHO SHOULD RUN A NODE
Universities, research institutions, governments, large publishers, any organisation with stable infrastructure wanting protocol independence.
WHAT YOU CONTRIBUTE
Resilience: more nodes mean no single point of failure. Local query latency: your users resolve badges from your node instead of routing internationally.
WHAT YOU GET
Full sovereignty over your own trust data. The ability to query and verify any TIP-ID or content hash without relying on The AI Lab's servers. No fees.
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENT
Python 3.11+ or Node.js 18+. 4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM / 500 GB SSD. TLS termination. Ports 4000 (REST API) and 4001 (gossip network). ~1-2 weeks to deploy.
Get started: Reference implementation at github.com/theailaborg/tip-protocol · Full deploy guide at theailab.org/nodes
ACCREDITED · VERIFICATION PROVIDER
Become a VP

A Verification Provider is an accredited organisation that performs the four-layer biometric verification stack and issues TIP-IDs to real people. VPs sit between the user's device and the trust network. They are the identity backbone of TIP, the organisations whose verification is trusted by the whole network.

WHAT VPS DO
Verify government IDs, run the 3D liveness check, bind device biometrics via FIDO2, compute the ZK dedup proof, and call the TIP node API to register a new identity on the DAG.
WHAT VPS MUST COMMIT TO
Annual independent security audit (published). Quarterly warrant canary. Jurisdiction declaration. Compliance with The AI Lab's VP Code of Conduct. $5,000/year accreditation fee.
JURISDICTION CLASSIFICATION
VPs are classified Green (no mandatory data access laws), Amber (mandatory access laws exist), or Red (high-risk jurisdiction). Users see the classification before choosing a VP.
Apply: theailab.org/vp-accreditation · Questions: tip@theailab.org
FOUR CATEGORIES OF INSTITUTIONAL PARTICIPANT
🏛
Governments & Public Institutions
ROLE: VERIFICATION PROVIDER
National digital ID agencies, election commissions, passport authorities, city government portals
WHY PARTICIPATE

Governments already hold the authoritative identity records. A TIP VP integration lets a national digital ID agency issue TIP-IDs at the end of their existing eID pipeline, with zero duplicate verification required. Citizens get a portable, universal trust credential from the authority they already trust.

WHAT YOU GET

Citizens with government-verified TIP-IDs. The government's verification standards applied network-wide. A national node strengthens data sovereignty; citizens' trust data resolves on domestic infrastructure.

HOW IT WORKS

Integrate the VP SDK with your existing eID or digital identity pipeline. No biometric re-collection required where a compliant process already exists. Jurisdiction is declared Green if no mandatory data access laws apply to user data.

🏦
Banks & Financial Institutions
ROLE: VERIFICATION PROVIDER
Retail and commercial banks, credit unions, KYC/AML compliance teams, payments platforms
WHY PARTICIPATE

Banks perform the most rigorous identity verification in the private sector. Their KYC pipeline already includes government ID check, liveness verification, and device binding, exactly the TIP four-layer stack. Becoming a VP lets them issue TIP-IDs as a value-added service at the end of the onboarding flow they already run.

WHAT YOU GET

A new credential type for customers. Revenue share on Seal purchases. Competitive differentiation: customers whose financial institution has issued their TIP-ID have the strongest possible trust signal. Reduced fraud liability on content your bank publishes.

HOW IT WORKS

Map your existing KYC steps to the TIP four-layer verification model. Integrate the ZK proof library at the dedup step. Call POST /v1/identity/register after onboarding completes. First VP accreditations processed in 4-8 weeks.

📰
Publishers & Journalism Organisations
ROLE: VERIFICATION PROVIDER + NODE OPERATOR
News organisations, wire services (AP, Reuters), journalism associations (CPJ, RSF, SPJ), academic journals
WHY PARTICIPATE

Publishers verify their journalists through press credential processes. A TIP VP integration issues every credentialed journalist a TIP-ID through the publication's existing HR and press credential workflow. In Year 1, journalist verification is free; in return, the publisher runs a VP node and their editorial TIP policy becomes a network anchor point.

WHAT YOU GET

Every journalist on staff gets a portable, universally trusted credential. The publication's brand becomes a trust signal: a journalist verified by Reuters carries network-wide recognition. Protection against AI impersonation of your reporters.

HOW IT WORKS

Use your existing press credential issuance process as the verification event. The AI Lab provides the VP SDK and CMS plugins for WordPress, Ghost, and custom editorial systems. Category B VP partners receive free journalist verification in Year 1 of accreditation.

🎓
Universities & Research Institutions
ROLE: VERIFICATION PROVIDER + NODE OPERATOR
Universities, research councils, academic publishers (Nature, Elsevier, arXiv, ORCID), hospital systems
WHY PARTICIPATE

Academic fraud (AI-generated papers, fabricated citations, false authorship) is an existential threat to research credibility. A university that becomes a TIP VP issues TIP-IDs to faculty and graduate students through student/staff identity systems (SSO / institutional login). Every paper published by a verified researcher carries a cryptographic authorship record.

WHAT YOU GET

Every researcher at the institution gets a globally recognised, portable identity credential tied to their institutional affiliation. Integration with ORCID and preprint servers (arXiv, bioRxiv) means papers auto-carry TIP provenance. The institution becomes a trust anchor for academic publishing.

HOW IT WORKS

Integrate with your institutional identity provider (Microsoft Entra ID, Shibboleth, or similar). The TIP VP SDK maps SSO authentication to the biometric pipeline. arXiv, bioRxiv, and major journal submission systems accept TIP provenance metadata via standard HTTP headers.

VP JURISDICTION CLASSIFICATION: FULL TRANSPARENCY
🟢
GREEN
No mandatory access laws

The VP operates in a jurisdiction with no law requiring them to provide user data to government agencies without a court order. Users choosing a Green VP have the highest privacy protection the network can offer.

EU / UK / Canada / Switzerland / Australia
🟡
AMBER
Mandatory access laws exist

The VP's jurisdiction has laws that may compel disclosure of user data. The VP publishes a quarterly warrant canary. Users are notified of this classification before they register with this VP.

US (FISA) / India (PDPB) / Singapore / Japan
🔴
RED
High-risk jurisdiction

The VP operates in a jurisdiction classified as high-risk for data protection. The AI Lab publishes the criteria for Red classification. Red VPs must meet enhanced audit requirements and are clearly labelled.

Assessed case by case per GDPR adequacy decisions

Every VP's jurisdiction classification is published in the public VP registry and shown to users at the point of registration. Institutions in higher-risk jurisdictions are not excluded; they are disclosed, and users choose with full information.

🌐
WHY EARLY PARTICIPANTS BENEFIT MOST

The TIP network is a trust graph. Its value grows with every new node, every new VP, and every new verified identity. Institutions that join early become founding nodes in the trust ledger; their verification history becomes part of the permanent DAG record. A university whose faculty have been TIP-verified for three years before a competitor joins has a three-year head start in academic trust credibility that no amount of money can buy after the fact.

The first government to become a TIP VP sets the verification standard for its citizens' credentials on the global network. The first bank to issue TIP-IDs becomes the default trust anchor for its customers' online identity. Early participation is a permanent structural advantage, not a temporary promotion.