[orblivion]

I think this goes to the fact that we need a new sort of UID. Something thought through very carefully rather that something that comes to be. There's a sort of hidden infrastructure, hidden legacy, hidden stability that's been built around phone numbers and email. For instance, "valid Google email address" is a proxy for "a real person with X likelihood". Same goes for SSN + demonstrated knowledge of your last few residences, etc etc. It's a mess.

Start from first principles, what do we really need to know about a person? What could we build? On the other hand, maybe if it's too good it'll be bad for privacy, and escaping into the shadows, should that become necessary for someone.

[aarreedd]

This a problem some people are trying to solve with blockchain technology.

I'm not necessarily saying this is a good idea. It's just an interesting potential solution.

[orblivion]

The question I think I'm getting at is about who you are and why that matters in a given case. Blockchains are good for keeping identities intact once established, which is different though maybe it'll help overall.