The Identity Nexus?

Dearest Reader,

Today’s article focuses on a concept called The Identity Nexus? by Dr. Michael Becker . He elegantly describes it thus:

Where the reward-to-risk ratio of digital identities and personal data exchange between individuals, public, and private organizations are balanced.

Why is this so important? Because by 2030 roughly 2.2 billion more internet users will have gone online, mostly via mobile devices. There will be 7.5 billion internet users on the planet, or roughly 88% of the projected 2030 global population. Governments are so concerned about this that currently 75% of the world's population now falls under some sort of privacy regulation. I expect that percentage to increase. And yet none of these regulations seem up to solving the challenge of the Identity Nexus?. How do you code such a solution?? Even the inventor of the web – Sir Tim Berners Lee (Sir TBL) has taken up the challenge.?

In 2016 he started the SOLID Project. It’s theme - your data, your choice. He calls this Web 3.0 or the semantic web. The concept is simple - Solid is a specification that lets people store their data securely in decentralized data stores called Pods. Pods are like secure personal web servers for your data. Your ‘Pod’ becomes your Identity Nexus?. In 2018 he commercialized the idea with the formation of a company called Inrupt which in 2021 raised a $30M Series A (source ). He went on to create the Solid Protocol which uses existing W3C standards to define a user-centric method of storing and sharing data. However, it is not a W3C Standard nor is it on the W3C Standards Track (source ).

You’re probably wondering why I find all this so fascinating? Well in 2006 we set out to solve what we called the ‘Me’ problem. This was before smartphones were a thing and the onset of the mobile web. We used a Palm Pilot and Compaq iPAQ back in those days to access the web. It was an awful experience, and worse still everywhere we went, the websites asked me to type in my personal details. Sound familiar? We argued - why doesn’t it just know ‘Me’? Where’s the ‘Me’ button that I can press and send all of this data??

Well, it didn’t exist then, so we invented it. However, one of the founders took exception straight away, as she said (and correctly so) “all of that data was a violation of her privacy - fix it.” So, we did. (Field level compression and encryption). But even that wasn’t enough for her - she wanted more control - “fix it.” So, we did. (Field level control over each piece of data). Essentially each person ended up with their own Identity Nexus? where they had control over every aspect of their data. We stored this data on their phone (encrypted of course) and now inside the secure enclave chip in each phone (still encrypted of course).?

Now we ran into the next set of problems - transmitting the data, and ensuring interoperability combined with simple integration.?In order for our data to be transferred to a “broker of data” (a.k.a. infomediary) with the end result of compensation for the value of our data we returned to Sir TBL’s first invention, based on what it says in the abstract…

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application-level protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. It is a generic, stateless, protocol which can be used for many tasks beyond its use for hypertext, such as name servers and distributed object management systems, through extension of its request methods, error codes and headers.

… we extended it. We did a lot more than just that, but that will be covered in my next post. We call this part of our innovation Augmented HTTP.?

Summary so far: We’ve enabled a decentralized secure Identity Nexus? to exist on each individual’s phone where my personal data remains under my control. We also implemented full user data sharing controls to share each piece of data. But now, as they say, the plot thickens. Web 2.0 - the current web we all know, and love is now joined by Web 3.0. Read/Write now becomes Read/Write/Own.?

Sir TBL’s Web 3.0 is the Semantic Web whereas Web3 is blockchain or the immutable ledger. It’s not a web protocol, it’s the blockchain protocol. But it can interact with the web via a ‘web API’. Anyway, back to the story. What we need next is to be absolutely sure that this is Me and this is My data i.e. I own my own data. Web3 is perfect for this. There are a myriad of blockchains out there, but there’s only one based on Proof of Honesty? with a BFT of 99. (Bitcoin's is 50). It is Geeq . In my opinion nothing else comes close, especially for the use I have in mind - here's the gem - the Geeq Notary Service .

Traditionally, in order to prove something to someone who might not trust you, you’d need to find a witness (such as a notary public or government official) to corroborate your claim and certify you are who you say you are. You’d need to bring your identification and take the time to meet someone physically. The entire process could be stressful, time-consuming and expensive. If you find out afterwards that you need a new piece of information, you will have to go through the entire process again.

This is all about data provenance. With this service you can now prove not only who you are, but also that you own your data and have that stored in an immutable ledger. Which kicks us immediately into a branch of law with an existing and proven legal framework. Chose (pronounced: /?o?z/, French for "thing") is a term used in common law tradition to refer to rights in property, specifically a combined bundle of rights. A chose is the enforcement right which a party possesses in an object. The use of chose extends from the English use of French within the courts.?

By notarizing my data, I have turned it into a ‘thing that I posses ’ - a Chose in Possession. Now what I want to do is ‘trade’ that data, by turning it into a Chose in Action (e.g., a Bearer Bond which is both a Chose in Possession and a Chose in Action). To do that I add ‘my terms and conditions’ around how that data is to be used and wrap that in a cryptographic signature which is then is transmitted using Augmented HTTP to the organization.

And this is where I will pause. This is the first half of the challenge - enabling any individual to have control over the collection, flow, use, and assignment of their personal data (a Chose in Possession and a Chose in Action). It uses the protocol that runs the web and that every business currently uses. It supports all existing infrastructure and knowledge bases with no changes. I can now prove that it is me and that I own my data. I can now assert my own terms and conditions on how that data is to be used. If you (the business) choose to accept those terms and conditions, then the future opens up into something we call Trusted Negotiated Digital Commerce.?

Now, there is finally away a way to legally assert the value of my data and balance the rewards. McKinsey is projecting it to be a $70 trillion-dollar economy. In my next post I will spend most of it talking about those immortal words in Jerry McGuire - “Show Me the Money” and how to complete the return loop to enable something called Ecosystem 2.0

Thanks for reading!

Janet Carlson Glenna Crooks, Ph.D. StJohn "Singe" Deakins Stephanie So Sourav Ratul Irene Ng Elizabeth (Liz) Coker