SWEAR selected as a TIME 2025 Best Invention for AI-proof digital authenticity

BOISE, Idaho—Digital content authenticity provider SWEAR has announced that its AI-proof video technology has been recognized as one of TIME’s 2025 Best Inventions.

Designed for industries where trust in digital content is critical, SWEAR’s patented technology creates a tamper-proof chain of authenticity that instantly exposes manipulation. As deepfakes and counterfeit media threaten to have great influence, SWEAR delivers a safeguard for truth in the digital era.

The idea of truth is increasingly under attack with the rise of AI-generated deepfakes. The rapid proliferation of deepfakes and counterfeit data has made it alarmingly simple to produce convincing forgeries, enabling the spread of false narratives that erode trust across governments, industries, and society.

“At SWEAR, we saw this threat long before it reached today’s scale and committed eight years to developing a solution,” said Jason Crawforth, CEO, SWEAR. “Now we have a technology that delivers verifiable authenticity that cannot be counterfeited, even by AI or quantum computing, ensuring that digital evidence remains intact. From police body cameras to surveillance systems, vehicle cameras, and smartphones, we protect the recordings the world depends on.”

SWEAR utilizes blockchain to protect content at the moment of creation, setting a new standard for digital authenticity. Its patented technology maps the “digital DNA” of every frame, pixel, and sound bite, permanently preserving that data in an immutable blockchain system to create a tamper-proof chain of authenticity.

Unlike watermarking or other approaches, SWEAR verifies media by reconstructing its digital DNA and comparing it frame by frame against the blockchain record - instantly exposing even the smallest alteration. It delivers ironclad proof of authenticity without compromising privacy, as the original recording never leaves the device.

For more than two decades, TIME has spotlighted ideas that set new standards in science, technology, design, and culture. Each year, editors evaluate candidates across a broad list of categories, including accessibility and sustainability, as well as health, education, and digital security. Honorees are chosen based on their originality, creativity, and measurable impact. For 2025, TIME expanded the list to 300 inventions to reflect the rapid pace of progress worldwide.

See the complete list of 2025 honorees here.