There is a person behind the work.
A piece of writing, a photograph, a song, a voice. Each can carry years of practice, lived experience, failed attempts, and choices that only its maker could have made.
As AI-generated work becomes more familiar, those human origins can be harder to see. Creators need a way to say how their work was made. Audiences need a way to make an informed choice.
That is the purpose of VerifiedHuman: a shared standard and a recognizable label for human creativity.
We are just like you. We care about the work, and about the people doing it. We want to make damn sure they can be found by the people who want to find them.
A standard people commit to.
VerifiedHuman is a voluntary certification based on a creator’s commitment to a published standard. Members read the standard for their field, agree to it, and use the label on work that qualifies.
The standard is supported by definitions that address the choices people actually make: where tools can assist, what must remain human, and when disclosure is needed.
Our five-level Human–AI Spectrum gives those conversations a common language. VH3, human-led and AI-assisted, is the minimum level for certification. Work must also meet its field’s standard.
What the label tells you.
A person has made a specific commitment about the work bearing it. The label does not come from an automated AI scan, and it is not a guarantee that every work by a member qualifies. Its meaning rests on the published standard and the member’s responsibility to honor it.
A Fair Trade label helps people make a choice about how something was produced. VerifiedHuman brings a similar concern to creative work: its origin matters, and people should be able to choose with that in mind.
Make room for human value.
- For the person making it.
- Skill and experience deserve recognition. The value of a work includes the life, judgment, and effort that went into it.
- For the person choosing it.
- People may welcome AI-made work, seek human-made work, or appreciate both. Clear labeling makes that choice possible.
- For the next generation.
- Students still need opportunities to think, write, compose, and discover what they can do. A shared language for AI use helps teachers protect that learning.
New tools can be useful. We want human authorship, consent, and creative control to remain visible as those tools become part of everyday life.
A conversation became a commitment.
Micah Voraritskul
Founder · Author of Human Is the New Vinyl
Micah founded VerifiedHuman in April 2023, after a series of conversations about what generative AI would mean for the people who make things.
The question was simple: when an audience can no longer tell how something was made, how does a human creator become recognizable?
Read the story, in Micah’s words Follow the thinking on Substack
Part of a larger conversation.
Creators’ associations, including SAG-AFTRA and the National Association of Voice Actors, advocate for the people whose work is affected by AI. Our concern for consent, compensation, and creative control belongs in that wider conversation. VerifiedHuman’s role is to provide a standard and a label for human-made work.
VerifiedHuman does not represent or speak for these organizations.
A C2PA Contributor Member.
We also participate in the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity, which develops standards for recording the source and history of digital content. Provenance and a creator’s commitment address different parts of the same need for trust.
C2PA membership
