Re: The "self-sovereign" problem (was: The SSI protocols challenge)

Michael, the definition is in the first sentence of Chapter 1:

Self-sovereign identity—commonly abbreviated SSI—is a new model for digital
> identity on the internet: i.e., how we prove who we are to the websites,
> services, and apps with which we need to establish trusted relationships to
> access or protect pri- vate information.


That broad definition was a deliberate choice on behalf of Alex Preukschat
and I as co-authors of the book. SSI is a digital identity model (not just
an architectural model, but also a governance model) that is significantly
different than in the digital identity models of the previous two eras of
Internet trust infrastructure, per this diagram that I now show at the
start of all my talks on SSI and ToIP to establish the overall context.

[image: image.png]


On Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 9:27 AM Michael Herman (Trusted Digital Web) <
mwherman@parallelspace.net> wrote:

> Hi Drummond, I’ve read through Chapter 1 of the Manning book just now (
> https://livebook.manning.com/book/self-sovereign-identity/chapter-1/v-11/88)
> and couldn’t a succinct nor operational definition for the term/concept of
> Self-Sovereign Identity.
>
>
>
> The chapter talks “all around” the topic of Self-Sovereign Identity but
> didn’t seem to conclude with an actual definition.  Did I miss it?
>
>
>
> Michael Herman
>
> Far Left Self-Sovereignist
>
>
>
> *From:* Drummond Reed <drummond.reed@evernym.com>
> *Sent:* March 23, 2021 10:02 AM
> *To:* sankarshan <sankarshan@dhiway.com>
> *Cc:* W3C Credentials CG (Public List) <public-credentials@w3.org>
> *Subject:* Re: The "self-sovereign" problem (was: The SSI protocols
> challenge)
>
>
>
> +1 to Adrian Doerk's definition in his thesis (which I highly recommend,
> BTW—Adrian's work is very comprehensive and thorough).
>
>
>
> FWIW, even though the forthcoming Manning book
> <https://www.manning.com/books/self-sovereign-identity> of which I'm a
> co-author (along with 54 contributing authors) is titled "Self-Sovereign
> Identity: Decentralized Digital Identity and Verifiable Credentials", in
> the opening chapter we explain the origin of the term and then recommend
> (and enforce throughout the rest of the book) simply calling it "SSI"—which
> is also what I see happening in the market. I predict that within the next
> 2-3 years, many who have become comfortable with the term "SSI" won't even
> know that it is an acronym or what it stands for (just as many today don't
> know what "IBM" or "ATM" stand for).
>
>
>
> As a final point, I was a speaker this morning on a webinar hosted
> by Condatis called "Scaling Digital Trust in Healthcare" where Charlie
> Walton, VP Digital Identity at Mastercard, shared the following slide,
> which is the first time I've seen the term "Commercial SSI".
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 23, 2021 at 6:54 AM sankarshan <sankarshan@dhiway.com> wrote:
>
> On Tue, 23 Mar 2021 at 18:40, Michael Herman (Trusted Digital Web) <
> mwherman@parallelspace.net> wrote:
>
> RE: "Decentralized identity" is a *better* choice. Others use
> "self-asserted," I think this has some of the same socio-cultural issues
> that "Self-sovereign" has.
>
>
>
>    1. QUESTION: Why is there this pervasive (pandemic?) of thinking
>    spreading across so many of our communities (CCG, SF, ToIP, etc.) about
>    giving in to this type of authoritarian, centralizationist thinking?
>    Why are people giving up on self-sovereignty in such large numbers?
>    Reference:
>    https://hyperonomy.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/model-2c.-social-evolution-self-sovereignty-political-spectrum-1.png
>
> The representation such as the above often create an all-or-nothing
> inference on the topic of SSI. It feels appropriate to cite a recently
> published work Doerk, Adrian. (2020). The growth factors of self-sovereign
> identity solutions in Europe. 10.6084/m9.figshare.14182586. and especially
>
>
>
> *We use the terminology of self-sovereign identity for describing a
> concept of giving individuals or organizations control over their digital
> identity. The identity resides with the identity subject in question, who
> is central to its administration. Sovereignty implies that individuals are
> equal among peers and are not administered by a central authority. This
> doesn't mean that individuals can suddenly issue themselves a new passport.
> Instead it means that individuals have control over how their personal data
> is shared and used. Moreover, individuals can now choose whether they would
> like to reveal their personal data and also which kind of data they would
> like to share in the event of a transaction or interaction. Through the use
> of cryptographic proofs SSI enables verifiability for all involved parties.*
>
>