04-05, 12:35–12:55 (Europe/Zurich), Verge Stage
Please write between 20 and 300 words.
AI can pose risks to individual autonomy, namely loss of control over personal data and erosion of individual agency and data integrity in the face of homogenizing algorithms. To make matters worse, deepfake technology is beginning to make it increasingly difficult for users to tell who’s real and who’s not.
We must enable users to own and control their digital personas independently of centralized authorities. This ensures autonomy in managing online presence and data sharing.
Integrating privacy-preserving technologies such as blockchain-based digital identities allows users to verify their personal attributes or transactions without disclosing underlying personal data. Educational initiatives that help users understand digital footprints, smart contracts, and data-sharing implications are fundamental to maintaining autonomy.
Users need to have a say as to how their data is utilized by AI algorithms. Blockhain-based data governance models empower users to have a say in the evolution of network protocols and policies, and Web3 digital identities provide users with more control over where their data is sent and who can view it.
We also need better standards for interoperability for interactions across blockchain networks and applications. This ensures users can navigate Web3 without being locked into specific platforms or ecosystems.
This approach is about starting a dialogue among technologists, policymakers, and users to shape an AI-powered internet that gives users control of their identity and upholds the rights and distinctiveness of every person. With roughly four million people using Web3 digital identities, we are seeing promising changes, but there is still much to be done.
Sandy Carter is Chief Operating Officer and Head of Business Development at Unstoppable Domains, a platform for user-owned digital identity. As COO, she is responsible for driving growth and developing business strategies in pursuit of the company’s mission to provide user-owned identity for the world. She also drives partnerships and integrations for Web3 and the Metaverse. Prior to Unstoppable, Sandy was a VP at AWS where she created and grew businesses in emerging tech, leveraging AI, blockchain, and AR/VR. Before that, she was a General Manager at IBM and a Silicon Valley start-up founder.
Sandy is a leading voice in technology, social media, Web3 and the metaverse who has been recognized as a Top 10 Most Powerful Woman in Tech by CNN and as a top AI influencer per Onalytica. Sandy Carter is a Board Member at Altair, an AI company, Chairman of the Board for the non-profit Girls in Tech, a past member of the Diversity Committee at the World Economic Forum, the founder of Unstoppable Women of Web3 and a founding member of Blockchain Friends Forever (BFF). She has won numerous awards including 2023 Crunchbase Influential Women in Sales List, 2023 CRN Channel Chief, Top 100 Global Thought Leader by Awards Magazine, Top 150 Business Transformational Leaders, a Top 100 Chief Tech Leader, Top 115 Most Inspirational Women of Web3/Metaverse, 100 Women Davos, Two Lovies Awards for Best Metaverse HQ, Top 14 Edge Leader, Federal 100 Award Winner, and is a member of Fortune Most Powerful Women. She is fluent in eight programming languages and is the author of five books, which won the Platinum MarCom Award and the Silver Marketing Sherpa award.