A good idea is never enough. For an idea to develop into a usable product, two other factors need to align; product market fit and the availability of technology primitives. In mathematical theory, primitives act as building blocks for new theories. The same concept applies when developing a new technology platform. In OwnYou’s case, we rely on a number of important building blocks across blockchain technologies, cryptography, zero-knowledge proofs and SSI.
OwnYou is only possible because of very recent developments across these four fields. It is important to understand how each field contributes both concepts and technology.
Cryptography
Cryptography is everywhere and in everything. Cryptography allows us to hide something digital, to make it private, to sign it, to authenticate it and so much more. Without cryptography we would have no secure payments, no secure messaging and certainly no blockchain, zero-knowledge proofs or SSI. Cryptography is so pervasive, and so fundamental to the development and security of pretty much every digital application we use, that without, there would be no digital future. Cryptography is important to OwnYou because it allows us to share information securely and selectively.
Cryptography underpins the entire Intelligence Stack, from decentralized computing, allowing multiple parties to contribute data for computation while maintaining data privacy, to decentralized storage.
Blockchain
As we explore in our decentralization series, blockchains are so much more than crypto currencies. Blockchains create infrastructure for decentralized transactions and applications. Central control, whether that is by government or large enterprises, centralizes power. Sometimes that is a good thing and sometime decentralized power is more favorable. We believe personal data, including data related to you identity, should be controlled and managed using decentralized systems and governance. We don’t want to store personal data on a blockchain, typically that is a bad idea, but we might want to use blockchains to help manage access control, record keeping and payments.
Zero Knowledge Proofs
Zero knowledge proofs (ZKP), a subset of cryptography, are a marvel. They allow us to selective disclose information, while maintaining psuedonymity. ZKPs are used to help add capacity to blockchains, in what are sometimes referred to as Level 2 roll-ups, and they are used in verified credentials, in the form of BBS+ signature schemes, for the selective disclosure of personal data. OwnYou relies on selective disclosure when proving the authenticity of the information it provides to advertisers (and for other businesses use cases), without revealing any other information that might de-anonymize the individual.
Self-Sovereign Identity
The Self Sovereign Identity (SSI) movement wants to give individuals control of their digital identity, while making it easy for entities using the information to verifying authenticity without having to use centrally managed services. That might be a bit of a mouthful but, ultimately, it suggests individuals can self-manage their digital documents, as they would their physical documents, without having to rely on a third-party. And when they use that documentation to prove they are, or hold, what they claim to have, or to hold (for instance a driver’s license, or education accreditation, professional qualifications etc), then the relying party can check that information without having to use a third-party. SSI might not grab the headlines, in the way any blockchain related might and it might not be as mystical and buzzy as ZKPs but, we are very confident, SSI will have as much of an impact on our digital future as any other technology. Welcome decentralizes identifiers (DIDs) and Verified Credentials (VCs) into your common vernacular!
