What if New Zealand could lead the world in digital trust—on our terms? In a powerful international keynote at the 2025 Digital Trust Hui Taumata, James Monaghan (Co-founder, MISSION) offered a compelling vision for Aotearoa: becoming the world’s first truly decentralised credential ecosystem. Speaking from a global perspective, he laid out why digital identity and AI are converging, and why the next decade will define whether we shape that future or surrender it.

Identity is the most important thing we’ll own

“In the next decade,” Monaghan said, “the most important thing any of us will own is our identity.” As AI accelerates, it becomes easier to impersonate, mislead, and automate, raising the stakes for trusted digital identity systems.

Done wrong, identity becomes surveillance. Done right, it becomes empowerment. “It’s about enabling secure, human-centred interactions,” he said, “between people, government, businesses, and increasingly, machines.”

AI is turning up the urgency

AI agents are already booking travel, managing finances, and making decisions on our behalf. That creates both freedom and risk. Monaghan warned: “It’s getting harder to tell the difference between a real person and an AI impersonator.”

This means identity must now extend beyond humans to include machines, agents, and organisations. “There’s no universal identity framework for all of that – yet. But there could be,” he said. “And New Zealand is uniquely positioned to lead that.”

The global landscape: learning from others, staying true to us

Monaghan walked through identity approaches around the world:

The US: Fragmented, tech-led, and reliant on Apple and Google to bridge gaps

• The US: Fragmented, tech-led, and reliant on Apple and Google to bridge gaps
• The EU: Top-down, regulated, and ambitious—but still resolving business models
• Canada and Australia: Federated models blending public and private trust
• India: A hyper-centralised system with massive scale—and surveillance concerns
• Bhutan: A grassroots, self-sovereign model designed for digital inclusion

Against this backdrop, New Zealand stands out: small enough to move fast, but principled enough to lead with values. “You have a national trust framework. You can move with the stroke of a pen. That’s powerful,” he said.

Sovereignty matters—at every level

Monaghan underscored that technology is never neutral. Systems reflect the values of their creators. If we rely solely on global tech platforms, we inherit their priorities – privacy, inclusion, and self-determination may not be among them.

“Some convenience now could mean dependence in the future,” he cautioned. “We either choose to embed our values – or we accept someone else’s.”

What Aotearoa can do next

Monaghan’s call to action was practical and optimistic:

• Keep going: The Trust Framework is just the beginning—use it as a launchpad
• Export our values: Share our approach to privacy, inclusion, and decentralisation internationally
• Participate in standards: Help shape the global rules, not just follow them
• Centre sovereignty: Build for digital independence—not just convenience

“This isn’t just about reducing fraud or improving services,” he said. “It’s about doing what’s right. Even if it didn’t make us another cent, it would still be worth it.”

Stand-out quotes

“The most important thing we’ll own in the next decade is our identity.”

“Technology is never neutral… it is imbued with the values of its creators.”

“New Zealand is clearly very strong on governance… and agility is real… being a single jurisdiction means that with the stroke of a pen, you can make things happen. And I think there’s a lot of countries that would look to that with considerable envy.”

Keep the kōrero going

Stay engaged with Digital Identity NZ (DINZ) to connect with the people and partners shaping Aotearoa’s digital identity future.