Decentralised Trust for the Digital Economy

We propose a research initiative to explore and evaluate end-user technology, infrastructure, business imperatives, and regulatory policy to support the privacy, dignity, and market power of individual persons in the context of the emerging digital economy. Our work shall take a "system-level" approach to the design of technology and policy, considering the outcomes associated with the implementation and deployment of systems consisting of operational infrastructure, policies, and protocols for humans and computers alike. We seek to define and evaluate a set of approaches to the design and implementation of systems whose features specifically support the rights and market power of individual persons and local organisations, for the explicit goal of supporting truly consensual trust relationships and empowering local communities and organisations.