2214: Decentralized Digital Identities Aren’t Just for Humans - Machines Need Them Too

The machines we interact with every day make our lives easier. As they become more intelligent and able to help us in new ways, we need to take a step back and consider whether how third parties govern them is fit for purpose, particularly as we move towards a world with autonomous vehicles. Many machines, devices, and vehicles we use daily are centrally controlled, limiting what the machines can or can't do regarding the provision and rendering of goods and services. Machines built for Web2 exist in a closed, permission-based environment, which massively limits how they can interact with other machines, where they can go, and what they can do. Existing identification numbers are one-dimensional and are used to label machines and their specifications. This does not enable them to leverage their identity to enable movement, service authorization, trade, or payment. Sheridan Johns, Enterprise Lead at Ocean Protocol, and Leonard Dorlöchter, co-founder of Peaq discuss their mission to enable the secure, fast, and frictionless transfer of value and data between humans and machines through Self-Sovereign Machine IDs (SSMIs). I learn how the implementation of SSMIs as digital identities will enable vehicles, machines, robots, and devices to identify themselves with each other, people, and their environment. Decentralized Machine IDs will solve some of our biggest societal and economic challenges while enabling communities to benefit from the increased use of machines and automation within the workplace. We discuss how giving machines Self-Sovereign Machine IDs will change the future of work and how Web3 can ensure that job automation empowers a global workforce. We also explore what a fully decentralized machine economy will look like and how this can benefit individuals.