Ben Goertzel, a prominent AI developer and founder of the Cardano-based SingularityNet project, recently experienced a hacking incident on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. In response, Cardano creator Charles Hoskinson urged Elon Musk to implement decentralized identifiers (DIDs) on X to improve security.

Hoskinson proposed that integrating DIDs would address numerous security issues on X. He suggested to Musk that DIDs could help verify and secure digital identities, reducing the risk of hacks and unauthorized access. The Cardano founder even offered to implement the solution for free, outlining the importance of improved identity solutions for the social network.

The proposal caught the attention of Timothy Ruff, a general partner at Digital Trust Ventures with expertise in decentralized identity solutions. Ruff challenged Hoskinson's proposal, arguing that true decentralization requires a different approach to what DIDs offer.

He stressed the need for a truly decentralized identity solution, rather than embedding one platform within another.

How is it possible?

Hoskinson clarified that his reference to DIDs was in line with the W3C standard, highlighting a blockchain-agnostic hyperledger project designed to issue and manage DIDs and other parts of the identity stack.

He argued that X, which aims to become a money services business, needs a better identity solution for better security, access control and compliance. He repeated his offer to integrate the framework into X's infrastructure, which would then be managed by the dev team.

Despite Ruff's concerns about DIDs and their perceived limitations, Hoskinson remained committed to helping X evolve as a platform. He proposed the creation of an industry-wide working group to bring together leading experts to address identity issues for X, and to position it as an essential public infrastructure.