The SSI Orbit Podcast – Self-Sovereign Identity, Decentralization and Digital Trust

#53 - Thinking Beyond Client-Server Architectures (with Daniel Hardman)

May 5, 2023

55:02

Daniel has been doing software engineering and architecture for about 30 years. He has formal education in linguistics, business, and cybersecurity. He contributed to SSI standards such as W3C's DID core and VC specs, DIDComm 1 and 2, DIF's peer DID spec, and numerous RFCs from Hyperledger Aries. He also helped launch Sovrin and Trust Over IP. Daniel currently works as the CTO and CISO of Provenant, which is focused on authentic digital communication for organizations.

About Podcast Episode

Read more about the episode by heading to ⁠⁠⁠https://northernblock.io/thinking-beyond-client-server-architectures-with-daniel-hardman/

Some of the topics discussed between Daniel and Mathieu in this podcast conversation include:

The Centralization vs. Decentralization Continuum and the role of client-server architectures - weighing different forms of centralization and their impact on other architectural goals.
Protocol design and its relationship to consolidation - How do we determine trade-offs between centralization and decentralization in various components within a system?
Balancing architectural goals - is it more of an art or a science when making these decisions - do trade-offs happen at protocol or application layers?
Protocol design for digital identity, digital trust, and user categorization - Achieving self-sovereignty, control, and authenticity - Confidentiality and privacy.
How do protocol choices affect power dynamics and trust relationships and interactions between different parties?
How can we drive the right standards or protocols for more flexible interactions? Incentives for organizations to support standards that facilitate interactions between individuals - Balancing short-term sacrifices for long-term gains - The role of an ecosystem in driving change.
Can all human-driven protocols be codified, and is 'workflow' flexibility more important than achieving authenticity, confidentiality, and privacy? The challenge of replicating human interactions in digital protocols - The importance of flexible workflows - Balancing security and privacy with the ability to express nuance and adaptability.