I first gave a talk on this at the Internet Identity Workshop held in Palo Alto, CA in 2007. These are notes used way back then. Note the importance of real human relationships I was stressing then, even more important now in the Age of AI. The VC types there told me I was at least a decade ahead of everyone else in my thinking on these matters. We need the Trustednet now more than ever.

Real World Relationships forming the Trustednet

The Trustednet has three primary components:

1. Trustednet Services, an unlimited liability partnership

2. Trustednet Security Providers, individuals and/or entities

3. Users, natural persons

Initial relationships between these components are on a real world, face-to-face basis.

Trustednet Services accredits the Security Providers and has full access to their files in order to ensure that Trustednet Users are as secure as possible. TS accredits TSP’s based on evaluations of the technical, financial, and relational attributes of a proposed TSP.

TS has the power to levy fines and expel both TSPs and Users. TS is governed by it’s partners, which consist of Creators (generally initial investors and contributors), Operators (generally TSP’s and other ongoing operation supporters) and Users. Please refer to the detailed description for further information on the ownership and governance of TS. TS is a virtual entity, owning and owing only intangibles. It distributes all of its after expense income to its partners with the intent to not be a taxable entity anywhere. Ten percent of its gross income is distributed to a fourth component, accredited “Good Works” providers.

Security Providers own and operate the tangible assets of the Trustednet and accredit individual users. They compete with one another to offer the best value to Users. Like current ISP’s, many different business models will be attempted before a few dominant models may emerge. TSPs must have a physical presence where they can be face-to-face with each new User to assure they are not extending their valuable reputation to an imposter. Each Secure Home and path will be established in the physical presence of a TSP. Similarly, since a Secure Home and path should be a “for life” choice, changing a Secure Home and path must be done in the physical presence of a TSP.

Users use their consumer power to shop for the best value TSP. Secure Homes and paths may or may not be portable if the TSP is changed but the data files will be. A User is potentially trusting their TSP with all of their intangible digital assets and records of physical assets, so the number one factor in choosing a TSP should be trust.

Data in the Secure Home

Each Users data in the Secure Home will be failsafe backed up and guarded zealously by the Security Provider. The loss of even one User’s data could be catastrophic to a Security Provider, as Users will likely switch quickly to another Security Provider.

It is anticipated that after an initial adoption period, as Users become comfortable operating out of their Secure Home, they will store “everything” there, for example:

1. Financial records - the Secure Home is your bank account, brokerage account, frequent flyer account and every other type of financial record rolled into one

2. Digital correspondence and files- email, photos, video, audio

3. Personal Medical Records

4. Online Life History

5. Created files

6. Academic Records

7. Transaction Receipts

8. Contracts

9. Contacts

10. Catalogs of objects and relationships

11. Tags of objects

12. Ratings of objects, tags and ratings

The Secure Home data files will become a User’s non-biological lifetime memory.

Data transactions from the Secure Home will replace many present day bio world transactions:

1. Physical credit cards will be replaced by a screen at the retailer to enter your Secure Home

2. Voting will be accomplished from the Secure Home

3. “Cash” transactions will be funded by wiring funds from the Secure Home

4. Medical records will be accessed by issuing providers a time sensitive virtual key in order to access and update only the medical record portion of data

5. Similarly academic records

6. Credit providers could be allowed limited access to relevant financial data

Your Identity on the Trustednet- Be Yourself

Probably the most basic principle of the Trustednet is “Be Yourself”. Each natural person may have only one account anywhere on the Trustednet. The accounts will likely be numbered by verifiable birth coordinates.

Users will have the option of assuming different identities as they transact within the Trustednet or the Internet. In many cases, they will choose to be themselves because the other party of the transaction will insist on it. In other cases, they will choose to be Anonymous, as it is often not necessary or desirable that the other party in a transaction  know your true identity. And at some times, Users may wish to assume a Character identity, something they have created just to have fun.

The key point is that these choices are left up to the User and that these choices will be motivated by the emerging social conventions of the Trustednet. Most email users will likely decline email from any source that is not a real identity- which will end spam as we presently know it. Most discussion forums will likely not allow input from any source but a real identity- and this will end trolls, sock puppetry, and flame wars as they currently exist.

On the other hand, most merchants will gladly take money from anonymous buyers. And social sites of like minded individuals may prefer that the members interact “in character” rather than as a real identity.

Being yourself means Users have a reputation to protect. Their actions, attitudes, and abilities will have consequences as they interact with other Users over time.

User will be able to transact business for entities within the Trustednet by acting as agents for such entities. Since only natural persons may have a Trustednet account, entities such as corporations, governments, and voluntary associations will need to enter into contractual relationships with natural persons in order to interact on the Trustednet.

Personal responsibility and shared unlimited liability are another basic principle of the Trustednet.

Intellectual Property on the Trustednet

The Trustednet is a solution to the copying and unauthorized transfer issues that plague the internet today. Licensees of virtual intellectual property will likely insist on knowing the real identity of the Users and will be able to track that usage of the intellectual property is consistent with the license granted.

Creators of intellectual property will better be able to protect their rights as data stored within the Secure Home will, at their option, be time and access place stamped by a their Security Provider or a third party, establishing a “birth coordinate” for the creation.

Special Needs Users

Similar to non natural person entities, Special Needs Users will not be allowed to have their own account on the Trustednet. A Special Need User is one who cannot find any TSP that is willing to open an account. It is likely this will include children, the mentally challenged, the senile, and User’s who have been previously expelled from the Trustednet.

Special Needs Users will be able to use the Trustednet by having a User sponsor who is willing to allow use of a sub-account that the User is also responsible for.