Y Combinator's Youngest Solo Founder Says Digital Identity Is The Internet's Biggest Infrastructure

Kirill Avery, Y Combinator's youngest solo founder, warns that digital identity is the internet's biggest crisis. With cybercrime hitting $10.5 trillion by 2025 and bots making up half of internet traffic, traditional verification methods miss the real problem: distinguishing AI agents acting for humans versus malicious bots. His team was recently fooled by an AI-assisted job candidate who passed interviews but was fired within a week. AI companies are repeating Big Tech's playbook of centralizing data without transparency, while government regulations like UK/EU age verification create surveillance infrastructure instead of privacy-preserving solutions. Without proper decentralized identity systems, the combination of AI integration and CBDC rollouts could enable unprecedented government control over individuals.