"The internet was built to connect machines, not people. Its basic architecture maps servers to domain names and uses cryptographic certificates to prove websites are authentic. Yet it lacks a built-in way to bridge the gap between our offline identities - citizen, taxpayer, patient, employee, student - and the digital systems on which we increasingly rely to conduct our economic, civic, and personal lives."
"Thanks to the internet's missing identity layer, online life has become a painful, repetitive hassle of lost passwords, security code texts, and cumbersome, invasive sign-ups. We cobble together credit records, blurry photos of driver's licenses, awkward selfies, and security questions about our childhood pets. The experience is just awful, but it also doesn't work - and it's costing us."
The internet authenticates machines but lacks a native layer to verify human, real-world identities, forcing fragile workarounds for people. Users face repeated password resets, SMS codes, invasive document uploads, and unreliable security questions, producing poor usability and security. Americans lost $47 billion to identity fraud and scams in 2024, and fraud has undermined pandemic relief, public benefits, student aid, and small business lending. Generative AI and deepfakes make uploaded documents, photos, and voice or face checks easier to fake, further weakening trust. Digital identity should be treated as critical infrastructure with a federal framework to standardize a federated trust architecture without creating a national ID.
Read at Fortune
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