We’re losing the internet to AI.
Dydema is taking it back.
The internet's filling with bots that look and sound just like us.
Dydema reveals who’s real, with a wearable that proves you’re human.
Every corner of the internet is crowded with AI imitators, and it's getting worse.It's hard for us tell what's real anymore. Fake profiles, generated comments, endless waves of automated content — all eroding trust, dividing communities, and manipulating our shared reality.Our anti-bot tools were built for the past. They authenticate. They check passwords, phone numbers, CAPTCHAs, mouse movements. They never confirm that a living human is actually present.In the age of AI, we need something more fundamental — a way to know when a human is here, right now.
Dydema (dai-deh-mah) began at the University of Texas @ Austin. It grew out of research in machine learning, biomedical engineering, and neurotechnology.Dydema uses human physiology to confirm presence. We create subtle, living signals all the time — electrical activity, tiny heartbeat changes, micro-movements. These are extremely difficult for automated systems to fake in real time.Our first prototype is a comfortable headband that reads signals like EDA, HRV, and EEG. Machine learning interprets those signals to tell whether it's being worn by a human, in real time. If something looks unusual, the system can ask for a natural gesture — a blink, a breath, a simple motion.There's no puzzles to solve, and no personal info to hand over. It just provides confirmation that you’re here and you're human — and that everyone you connect with is, too.
We believe human presence can be the foundation for a AI-age web, but Dydema cannot be a new platform for control. It must be a protocol simply for knowing there’s a person on the other end.
Dydema’s goal is to confirm life, not monitor it. We will only verify that a human being is present.Where we can, we’ll process data on-device. Some steps may require de-identified data on secure servers, and we’ll be open about that. Before launch, we’ll bring in outside reviewers to audit our privacy and security.You’ll always know what’s measured and why.
"You should get working on [Dydema]... I would like to launch my book on a platform without AI or bots." - Author, University of Iowa Creative Writing
When everyone in a space is verifiably human, what you see and share online regains its meaning. Users and creators know their audience is genuine, and that interactions come from real people. Therefore, we’re creating our own community platform — where presence is required to participate. It’s a pilot for creators, buliders, researchers, and early adopters who care about a human internet. From there, the API will open up to developers who want to integrate presence into their own spaces. The road ahead looks like:
Building and testing the MVP
Launching the private pilot community
Expanding the presence API for partner platforms
If you’d like to follow progress or get involved, join our updates list. You’ll hear from us as we work towards the public release.
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