The Time for Self-Sovereign Identity is Now

Case Studies in Open Standards for Decentralized Identity and Verifiable Claims presented by Natalie Smolenski and Kim Hamilton Duffy.

Inasmuch as the blockchain affords, for the first time in history, the possibility of true individual ownership of their own data, it is a double-edged sword: it also opens the door for powerful actors to monitor and control the actions of human beings with unprecedented precision, at an unprecedented scale. If we want to avoid a future in which individuals are enslaved by smart contracts and decentralized autonomous organizations, we must build alternative possibilities now. Conservatism and inaction, including relying on legacy policy-based approaches to regulate technological development, are not options; the momentum is already in place, and innovation will respond to the incentives that are already at work.

The time for self-sovereign identity is now. This paper is a call for good-faith actors across the world to join in this initiative.