Abstract
The paper looks into some of the competing normative claims surrounding the development of Identity Management systems in general and Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) systems in particular. It is argued that SSI developments should be assessed against the backdrop of IMs attempting to implement a global identity layer based on aggregated singular identities and reputation scores. It is also argued that this trend defines key ethical issues pertaining to the development of SSI systems. In order to explicate and evaluate these issues, the paper looks at the desirability of singular aggregated identities through the lens of moral-philosophical theories. It is argued that such an analysis strongly suggests moral desirability of a plural identities approach in SSIs that have built-in advantage for the implementation of practical separation of identities.
Highlights
Even within the scope of a single discipline the concept of identity often falls apart into numerous meanings and interpretations (Martin and Barresi, 2006)
This paper has highlighted the connection between the question of a singular identity in practical identity management (IM) development and some of the established traditions in the moral theories of identity
The engagement with the moral-philosophical approaches to personal identity helps to map and disentangle some of the ethical concerns related to Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) solutions
Summary
Even within the scope of a single discipline the concept of identity often falls apart into numerous meanings and interpretations (Martin and Barresi, 2006). With the help of minimized private data disclosures and enhanced individual control over identity data these solutions, argue SSI designers, will reconcile social needs for the working identity management systems with individual rights to privacy and autonomy1 Enough, this aspiration to reconcile conflicting values mirrors the central point of arguments in the debates between the different moral-philosophical approaches to personal identity. In the imagined opposite corner, philosophical approaches to personal identity that highlight self-focused moral concerns: questions of self-determination and moral autonomy (Sen, 2007; Strawson, 2015) It would be a crude simplification and a great disservice to these intricate and elaborate theories to represent them as aligned along the axis of individual—communitarian values. Through the lens of these moral-philosophical arguments we identify competing normative claims behind the development of IM systems and highlight ethical issues in this field that can and should be addressed by SSI solutions
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