The Future of Identity: navigating the frontier of a new paradigm in our lives

Nowadays our identities play an increasingly vital role in shaping our lives. As the landscape of identity management undergoes a profound transformation, we find ourselves at the forefront of a new paradigm.
‍

At the beginning of this year, PolygonID and Walt.id collaborated to host the webinar series titled 'The Future of Identity,' bringing together a diverse panel of experts in blockchain, decentralized identity solutions, and SSI (Self-Sovereign Identity). This dialogue delved deep into the challenges and promises of this ecosystem, painting a picture of the road ahead.
‍

Let's explore the main insights:

• Identity Ecosystems: adoption, standards, opportunities and complexities.
• The Role of Blockchain: interoperability, technology and user education.
• Enablers of Self-Sovereign Identity: pragmatism over perfection.‍
• On-chain Identity: the future of reusable identity and multichain environments

‍
All of these episodes are also available to watch on our YouTube channel.

Throughout the conversations, we found similarities and themes that recurred and emerged as the main opportunities and challenges within the ecosystem and the future.

In the following text we attempt to explore those.

‍

Identity Ecosystems: adoption, standards, opportunities and complexities

‍

Imagine a world where individuals, not corporations, hold the reins of their information. This is the vision of identity ecosystems that were discussed in The Future of Identity webinar.

Where self-sovereign individuals decide what, when, and with whom to share their credentials. This is a shift from the current system where identity data is siloed in different applications and service providers.

Here, individuals might willingly share identifiers for public consumption, sparking inquiries into data privacy laws and the responsibilities of those steering the ship.

There are many benefits to the evolution of identity ecosystems, including increased user privacy, security, and convenience. However, there are also challenges, such as the need for standardization and governance, adoption and patience and to keep an agile mindset.

‍

We are switching to an ecosystem because it's not only about users empowering it. It's also because the world is getting more and more complex. You see that the current user has more complex digital interaction that they used to.

^{Daniel Du Sueil, Convenor European Self Sovereign Identity Framework (EBSI).}

‍

Importance of Adoption

‍

It’s important for organizations adopting decentralized identity early on to influence the technology's direction.

Real-world adoption and valuable feedback from organizations are considered crucial for bridging the gap between idealistic concepts and practical implementation.

‍

Standards and variations

‍

The challenges include the presence of multiple standards and variations in the ecosystem, leading to difficulties for organizations in choosing the right approach. The need for action and adoption was stressed, even in the face of varying standards.

I believe there will always be evolving standards, and it's our responsibility as technology providers to assist in bridging those changes and evolving alongside them. Sufficient standards have already been adopted, allowing us to begin providing tangible value to organizations today.

^{Elina Cadouri, COO (Dock).}

‍

Complexity and patience

‍

Understanding that we are talking about an operation that involves many entities in the middle, it needs to be viewed and analyzed with patience in order not to make the same mistakes of the past with decisions based on short term short-sightedness.

Having patience and taking a collaborative approach are key factors in the successful development of an ecosystem. This is because managing ecosystems, understanding diverse interests, and navigating political and relationship dynamics are complex issues that require time to mature.

‍

Watch the full episode of The Future of Digital Identity: Identity Ecosystems:

The Role of Blockchain: interoperability, technology and user education

‍

Blockchain is presented as the game changer to bring the future of our identities to the reality of our days, and the impact is spread across different areas of which interoperability, regulations, user education and DLT (Distributed Ledger Technologies) stand out.

‍

Let's take a closer look at some of these areas.

‍

Global Interoperability: Forging Digital Alliances

‍

The demand for solutions that can effortlessly bridge the gaps between various identity platforms has grown louder, heralding a future where the digital world becomes more inclusive and accessible to all.

This vision of seamless communication across a mosaic of platforms not only promises to revolutionize how we manage digital identities but also paves the way for a more interconnected and unified digital ecosystem.

‍

The most important thing to tackle here will be the interoperability, because probably not everything will work on a single identity solution and we need to be able to talk to each other to be able to also exchange information between different chains.

^{Silvia Arán, Technical Sales Director (Polygon ID).}

‍

An important aspect beyond interoperability is the variety of options available to individuals based on their specific use cases and preferences regarding disclosure. Achieving interoperability poses a significant challenge, especially considering that zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) are currently very application-specific.

However, Polygon ID is making remarkable strides in innovating around this challenge. As technology evolves, ZKPs are expected to become much more user-friendly.

Additionally, selective disclosure*, a concept vital in the blockchain space, boasts powerful tools like merkle trees*, which, despite their potency, have often been overlooked.

_{*Selective disclosure is the act of making something known or public that was previously secret or private synonym revelation the newspaper's disclosure of defense secrets.}

_{*Merkle tree is a data structure that is used in computer science applications. In bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies​, Merkle trees serve to encode blockchain data more efficiently and securely.}

‍

Consent and User Education

‍

Although technological solutions designed to manage consent are available, significant challenges persist regarding user experience and the depth of informed consent. Consent is vital, yet there is a pressing need for enhanced user education.

This is crucial to empower individuals to make fully informed decisions regarding their personal data and digital identities. The current landscape of the web2 era exacerbates this issue, particularly with the rampant use of deceptive design practices, known as "dark patterns," in many of the products and services we encounter daily.

These manipulative strategies undermine user autonomy, making the need for transparent and user-friendly consent mechanisms more important than ever.

Developers are urged to minimize personally identifiable information on-chain and prioritize educating users about the implications of their actions in decentralized applications.

‍

Distributed Ledger Technologies

‍

Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) stand at the forefront of decentralized identity landscapes. A diverse tapestry of DLTs comes with its own set of challenges and regulatory perspectives.

The affordability and accessibility of DLT systems directly impact their usability, influencing factors such as identity creation and data storage costs.

Additionally, as layers are built on top of DLT for wider adoption, the inherent security of the underlying infrastructure may become obscured, potentially leading to vulnerabilities such as eclipse attacks.

‍

If we build layers on top, which we need to do to achieve adoption, the fundamental security implications of an underlying DLT might become so obfuscated. It's important for us to consider that the base layers need to be interchangeable from an interoperability perspective, but they are not interchangeable from a guaranteed perspective.

^{Heike Haß, Identity Team Lead (IOTA).}

‍

Don't’ miss the opportunity to watch of The Future of Digital Identity: the Role of Blockchain for Identity:

Enablers of SSI: pragmatism over perfection

‍

It's time for Self-Sovereign Identity to transition from the confines of the lab to the real-world spotlight. Alongside this shift, prioritizing pragmatism over perfection takes precedence, offering invaluable insights into the drivers of SSI and promoting production-oriented strategies.

Some of the key enablers that need to be in place in order for SSI to succeed including standardized credential schemas, use cases and education, human-centric language and the urge of balancing technology choices become critical factors for wider adoption.

‍

Adopting a pragmatic approach

‍

The need for clarity in understanding what is "good enough" and having a clear path towards future goals is determinant, because it is common to see high performing teams focused on developing the best possible technology without connecting with the different factors that make it possible to implement it in the real world.

Facilitate smoother transitions towards production deployments, ultimately benefiting the entire decentralized identity community.

In line with the need to be pragmatic and the aim for adoption, Polygon ID is working on developing and growing an ecosystem marketplace of credential issuers, creating a positive network effect where everyone benefits from the addition of new builders.

‍

We need to move beyond the theory and start putting these concepts into large-scale production.

^{Dominik Beron, CEO (Walt.id)}

‍

Standardized credential schema design is crucial for adoption

‍

Companies and institutions evolve in Self-Sovereign Identity also need to address the discoverability problem, with the intention of collaborating with issuers* to develop a standardized framework that enables the issuance of credentials. _‍

_{*The Issuer is an entity that creates and issues digital credentials.}

‍

A common schema for identity and open registries for credential protocols can enhance interoperability and simplify adoption.

^{Kim Hamilton, Executive Director (DIF)}

Let's talk humans!

‍

Employing human-centered language when delving into the realm of Self-Sovereign Identity is crucial to communicate in terms of tangible real-world issues and practical applications, effectively articulating the challenges faced in everyday scenarios.

Educating stakeholders plays a pivotal role in nurturing productive collaboration and ensuring the widespread adoption of SSI solutions

The conversation in The Future of Identity webinar underscored the significance of clear standards, while acknowledging prevailing uncertainties in the market, and emphasized the need for organizations to address pre-work challenges and make informed technology choices based on their specific needs to expedite SSI adoption.

‍

Haven't you seen it yet? Watch this episode of The Future of Identity: Enablers of SSI:

Let's use human-centric language when discussing Self-sovereign Identity. We need to articulate real-world problems and use cases to stakeholders.

^{Sharon Leu, Executive in Residence (JFF Labs).}

‍

On-chain Identity: the future of reusable identity and multichain environments

‍

Identity in the context of web3 is multifaceted and encompasses everything we do or interact with in the digital realm. In this context, proficient in guiding organizations to choose appropriate identity solutions based on use cases, emphasizing privacy, compliance, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.

There are different ways to implement identity on-chain, and the best approach depends on the specific use case, but the part of the decisive elements in on-chain based on expert opinions will be reusable identity, multi-chain environments and responsible development:

‍

• Reusable identity technologies allow you to use your identity data across different applications and platforms. This can make it easier for you to access services and products without having to create new accounts all the time.

• Multi-chain environment refers to the ecosystem of hundreds of blockchains that exist today. Moreover, the term is used most frequently to describe applications that launch on multiple blockchains, widely known as “multi-chain applications”. The innovation around this is happening around zk-SNARKs and selective disclosure, and the choices developers face in selecting chains for deployment.

• Responsible development: The responsibility of user experience and consent in identity solutions is an important part of the development of on-chain identity. There is a demand for developers to make responsible choices in influencing user decisions, which also involves the tension between maximizing data for application benefit and giving users control over their data.

‍

We have a tension to explore between the builder and application benefit of having as much data as physically possible, which is a pattern that has been taught to us by web2, and also contemplating how we can increase the lifetime value that we can provide to folks by giving them a moat of their own data. This applies to individuals, enterprises, and services alike.

^{Bryce Patrick, Product Lead (EAS).}

‍

Don't’ miss the opportunity to watch episode of “On-chain Identity” of the series The Future of Digital Identity:

The Future of Identity: embracing the journey with open eyes

‍

The journey towards the future of digital identity is paved with exciting possibilities and formidable challenges. Collaboration, user education, and responsible development stand as vital cornerstones. As individuals, we must engage with this evolving narrative, staying informed and shaping the future of our digital selves.

This is not just a technological shift; it's a revolution in how we perceive and manage our identities, and ultimately, a chance to reclaim control over our digital lives.

Interesting to discover what Polygon ID can bring to your project? Feel free to reach out to our team here, or delve into our comprehensive technical documentation

‍

Special thanks to the array of amazing experts that made all this series possible:

Domenik Beron, CEO (walt.id), Eike Haß, Identity Team Lead (IOTA), Daniel Du Sueil, Convenor European Self Sovereign Identity Framework (EBSI), Kim Hamilton, Executive Director (DIF), Nick Reynols, Product Engineer (Veramo Labs), Silvia Aran, Technical Sales Director (Polygon ID), Elina Cadouri, COO (Dock), Zack Jones, Marketing Director (Trinsic), Evin McMullen, CEO (Disco), Alen Horvart, Lead Architect (Netis), Etan Bernstein, Head of Ecosystem (Velocity Foundation), James Monaghan, Decentralized ID Consultant, Bryce Patrick , Product (Ethereum Attestation Service), Lasha Antadze, Co-founder (Rarilabs), Sharon Leu, Executive in Residence (JFF Labs), Oliver Terbu, Technical Director (walt.id), Otto Mora, Americas Technical Sales Lead (Polygon ID) and Jamie Smith, Founder (Customer Futures).