Reimagining Data, AI & the Web with "Active Wallets"
Last month, Inrupt’s executive team took the stage at Web Summit, one of the largest technology events in the world. They unveiled and made the case for Active Wallets as a new vehicle to create transformative value via trusted relationships between organizations and individuals. We share key takeaways from each talk below.
How Next-Gen Digital Wallets Will Define the Next Phase of the Web
(Sir Tim Berners-Lee & John Bruce)
Digital wallets have become a game changer for transactions like payments and ticketing. Now, they can do so much more. At Web Summit, Inrupt co-founders Sir Tim Berners-Lee and John Bruce introduced Active Wallets, which store user data in a central location and allow organizations to request access to a user’s data, letting organizations utilize a greater variety of data without being responsible for its security and storage.
“With Inrupt and the power of Solid Wallets, we can actually build things that are pro-human again,” said Berners-Lee.
By storing different types of data—such as medical records, financial information and media preferences—all in one location, organizations get access to a rich array of data that can create innovative, hyper-personalized products—all with built-in consent through the Solid Protocol.
And with the rise of agentic AI—and the increasing focus on what data is used to train LLMs–Active Wallets can enable a truly personalized experience for users by enabling AI agents to offer solutions based on a user’s personal preferences, rather than generic answers based on all the information on the web.
“You have all your data inside your Wallet, you run the AI on it, and it does not leak any of our personal data outside of the Wallet,” said Berners-Lee. “But it gives you enhanced responses and understands you from your own personal data.”
The first version of the web was driven by browsers, and the second phase was driven by applications. The current third age of the web is driven by Wallets—as evidenced by the rise of projects like the EU Identity Wallet initiative. Inrupt’s own technology is gaining traction with enterprises and governments like the government of Flanders, who are using Wallets to provide civic services.
Why 'Big Data' is a Liability in the Age of AI
(Bruce Schneier & John Bruce)
Most businesses aren’t going to build their own large language models—so they don’t need to hold on to large amounts of customer data. In fact, this data may be a liability, opening organizations up to hacks or data breaches. Active Wallets provide a way for organizations to access data without actually needing to store it, offering a breakthrough in customer data management.
“Solid Wallets are a new level of safe AI and efficiency because people own their data, and there’s less risk overall for organizations,” said Bruce Schneier, Inrupt’s Chief of Security Architecture.
Back in 2016, Schneier said that data is a toxic asset—when an organization stores large amounts of customer data, this data is able to be stolen, ransom, or published. The business responsible for this data is then hit with fines or faces reputational damages. Even when companies can safely store this data, it frequently isn’t that useful—personal data, whether self reported or gained through some other means, can often be inaccurate, out-of-date, or lacking greater context for a customer’s true interests.
Of course, Schneier couldn’t predict LLMs, or the rise of generative AI. These technologies create new pressures for companies who want to collect data to train LLMs, and for this data to be high-quality, which will help ensure the accuracy of AI outputs. Only a few companies—namely, those building LLMs—truly benefit from storing all of this data.
“You don’t need your customers’ data,” said Schneier. “You just need access to it.”
Wallets create a way for organizations to temporarily access customer data to provide goods and services, without needing to store this information indefinitely.
How Organizations Can Avoid the 'Innovation Trap'
(John Bruce)
Although organizations are faced with increasing infrastructure costs, greater technological complexity, and growing data regulations, they often refuse to come up with genuinely innovative solutions to these problems. Inrupt CEO John Bruce diagnoses this phenomenon as “reverse causality,” or when companies believe they can predict the success of future products based on the results of past ideas. With this limited mindset, organizations cannot embrace the possibilities of true innovation.
“Nonlinear innovations are like the web—they don’t come from any particular places,” said Bruce. “They don’t have us do anything faster or cheaper, necessarily, but they unlock a whole new world of opportunities that were otherwise impossible.”
When Sir Tim Berners-Lee first created the World Wide Web, it was difficult to explain its possibilities to organizations. Now, every company relies on a strong online presence to drive awareness and sales.
Generative AI, emerging data privacy regulations, and increasing consumer concern over how their data is used all contribute to the current tipping point of the digital world. Organizations need to embrace new technologies and new approaches to innovation in order to build better relationships with their customers.
