Insights from the World Economic Forum Panel on Digital Identity

As a participant in some of the ongoing discussions centered around digital technologies and digital identity during the World Economic Forum’s latest meeting in Davos, Hedera helped spark conversation on the importance of decentralized technology use cases. But what exactly did innovators and leaders around the globe talk about?

On the latest episode of Gossip About Gossip, Zenobia Godschalk, SVP of Communications with Swirlds Labs, welcomes Hedera Global Governing Council’s Chair and President Brett McDowell, to provide insight on WEF’s panel on digital identity.

The two discuss:

  • McDowell’s background in digital optimization, ICT coalitions, and security and how his experience led to his role with Hedera
  • What participating in the WEF panel on digital identity was like and how the forum helps to build community, connections, and strategic priorities
  • How decentralized technologies can blend into the future with current use cases

“…In general, happy to say that one of the themes that I believe is an outcome of some of the smaller room discussions with the leadership around blockchain, crypto, and Web3, has been to shift the focus from what the technology could be used for and to focus on what the technology is being used for…” said McDowell.

McDowell has been with Hedera Hashgraph for over four years and has helped shape the IT industry with over twenty years of coalition experience. He is the Founding Executive Director and Chair of the Hedera Governing Council. Previously, McDowell worked in executive leadership roles with FIDO Alliance and has led or advised numerous other future-forward companies, including PayPal and the Liberty Alliance Project. McDowell is a graduate of Alma College with a B.S. in Physics. He has also been awarded the Lemelson Fellowship for Innovation, Invention, and Entrepreneurship and worked as a Fellow for the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s National Center for Digital Government.

Recent Episodes

As AI infrastructure spreads beyond tech hubs and into America’s heartland, companies face a new imperative: not just to build facilities—but to build trust, local partnerships, and long-term value for the communities that host them. In Ellendale, North Dakota, Applied Digital’s Polaris Forge 1 campus has become a case study in what rural revitalization…

As demand for artificial intelligence continues to soar, the AI infrastructure needed to power it is scaling just as rapidly. A 2024 report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) forecasts that global spending on AI infrastructure will exceed $200 billion by 2028, driven by an explosion in compute-heavy applications like large language models and…

AI workloads are redefining the limits of data center design and infrastructure. Legacy data centers, built for traditional co-location, cannot handle the density, thermal demands, or power dynamics of accelerated computing. The AI boom has upended the data center sector, forcing a rapid shift to liquid-cooled racks as facilities pivot from sub-10kW racks to…