What is Decentralization? · Field Notes:
In it’s simplest definition, decentralization is the degree to which an entity within the system can resist coercion and still function as part of the system.
One of the better definitions I’ve come across
> “it is possible to build decentralized systems on top of centralized ones.”
…. could someone let the self sovereign identity people know this please.
@fromjason oh this could go deep and gnarly … so I enter at the right point .. are you aware of / into / involved in ‘self sovereign identity’❓
@fromjason It is certainly connected - BUT the question is how do you make it ‘Self-sovereign’ …
> Self-sovereign identity (SSI) empowers individuals to control their own digital identities without relying on centralized authorities like governments or tech giants. Users store verifiable credentials in personal digital wallets, sharing only necessary data selectively for privacy and security.
and
> Verifiable credentials are tamper-evident digital documents that prove claims about an identity or qualification, like a digital passport or diploma. They use cryptographic signatures from trusted issuers to enable instant verification without contacting the issuer. These standards, defined by the W3C, support privacy by allowing selective disclosure of information.
My question - which to date remains unanswered is
How do you ‘prove claims about an identity or qualification’ without some kind of ‘central authority’ and/or ‘trusted issuers’?
and
Where can I see this in action - in the wild?
Secondly - what - exactly - is ‘your identity’?
Thirdly if I take your phone - do I assume ‘your identity’?
@JohnPhilpin yup. I would have all those same questions. My biggest concern which I’ve written about but have published yet, is in the pursuit of such an identity, how do we avoid centralizing our social graphs and having that centralization not be exploited by big tech?
@JohnPhilpin so the author’s opinion is that PII is inherently centralized, will always be centralized, and should be always centralized as it’s built out. Is that right?
@fromjason essentially - although not a ‘single centralised hub’ - more ‘distributed nodes’ - since nowhere - anywhere - is there - let alone should there be - or could there be - ‘one ring to rule them all’. As a result he has developed an identity protocol to do just that … central to his thesis - the internet is about things - and identity is about people - and you don’t solve identity issues with things - use them yes but a thing doesn’t define you.