Sustaining Controlled Vocabularies and Ontologies with Decentralization and DIDs

Description

Abstract (English)

Identifiers play a crucial role in the digital realm, enabling us to accurately distinguish individuals, concepts, and objects without any ambiguity. In order for our interconnected data-driven world to function effectively, it is imperative that we have globally resolvable identifiers that provide sustainable identification. These identifiers are particularly important when combining information from various sources, which has become common practice in today's interconnected society. Decentralized identifiers are a type of identifier that have emerged as a solution to address the challenges and limitations of centralized identification systems.

Global unique identifiers are prevalent in various domains, including individuals, organizations, publications, and objects. DOI and handles have become essential for ensuring the FAIRness of academic papers and datasets. These identifiers are typically assigned by centralized entities such as publishers to ensure reliable uniqueness and global resolution.

However, it is worth noting that there is an emerging concept called Decentralized Identifiers, which provides a decentralized approach to digital identity verification. DIDs enable users to generate their own unique identifiers using trusted systems, giving them control over their data sovereignty. Additionally, blockchain technology can offer an alternative solution for decentralized authentication and authorization mechanisms.