Heather Flanagan| Spherical Cow Consulting
Heather Flanagan| Spherical Cow Consulting
Google recently gave us something we’ve been waiting on for years: hard numbers on how much energy an AI prompt uses. According to their report, the median Gemini prompt consumes just 0.24 watt-hours of electricity — roughly running a microwave for a second — along with some drops of water for cooling. The post Who Really Pays When AI Agents Run Wild? Incentives, Identity, and the Hidden Bill appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Access models were built with people in mind. I’ve seen how creaky they get when the ‘user’ is an AI agent. Suddenly, those dusty old entitlements look very shaky. #AI #authorization| Spherical Cow Consulting
Inform the Standards in Digital Identity Collaborate with an experienced guide to navigate the complexities of digital identity standards. From facilitating multi-stakeholder discussions to drafting and refining standards, we help ensure your efforts make a meaningful difference in the industry. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities for my work with digital identity-related standards Strategic Guidance for Continue Reading| Spherical Cow Consulting
We don’t spend much time thinking about the roads we drive on—until one cracks, collapses, or dumps us somewhere we didn’t mean to be. Identity in the age of agentic AI? Same deal. It’s infrastructure. Like a good road, it needs to be ready for traffic we can’t imagine. The post Roads, Robots, and Responsibility: Why Agentic AI Needs Identity Infrastructure appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Not all bots are bad, but they all cost something. Identity isn't enough and incentives must reshape automated traffic management.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Heather Flanagan| Spherical Cow Consulting
This one’s for everyone who’s ever said, "I’m not technical enough to participate in standards development." If you’ve wondered what working group chair skills actually matter, I have news for you: you don’t need to be a spec-writing wizard to be effective. I do get it, though. The post Working Group Chair Skills: Standards Work Isn’t Just for Coders appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
If you want to follow what's happening in AI, it helps to know where the conversations are happening. That doesn't just mean the headlines and white papers; it means the standards bodies, working groups, and protocol discussions shaping the infrastructure AI systems will have to live with (and live inside). The post Agentic AI in the Open Standards Community: Standards Work or Just Hype? appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Disinformation. Misinformation. Malinformation. These terms get used interchangeably, but they’re not the same thing. That distinction matters when designing resilient infrastructure that supports trust. Most of our efforts to address these problems focus on content, activities like fact-checking, moderation, and takedown requests.| Spherical Cow Consulting
I went to Geneva to understand what, if anything, people were saying regarding digital identity and standards in a governance-focused forum. My brain is now full. I adore the topic of identity and the standards development process; everything from the brilliant minds, the challenges, and the intense edge cases. The post What WSIS+20 Taught Me About Digital Identity and Global Governance appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Is the digital identity wallet metaphor helping or hurting adoption? A look at where the term breaks down and what might work better.| Spherical Cow Consulting
What do you think of when someone says "digital identity"? Biometrics? Login credentials? A string of JSON data? Your social media account? The answer probably depends on where you are, how old you are, and/or how tech-savvy you are. The post Local Flavors, Global Reach: Why Digital Identity Needs Cultural Context appeared first on Spherical Cow Consulting.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Explores mDL “phone home” verification and how privacy, fraud, and risk influence digital credential standards development.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Experience Matters Navigating the complexities of digital identity requires strategic vision, industry expertise, and actionable recommendations. It also requires a sense of humor, rigorous organization, and cheerful insight. With nearly 15 years of experience, I offer tailored advisory services designed to help organizations like yours address the challenges and opportunities in this dynamic space. Whether Continue Reading| Spherical Cow Consulting
Most identity standards assume stability, but what happens when trust breaks down? Let's explore what resilience looks like.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Open standards are the backbone of interoperable digital identity. Here's what that really means and why the details matter more than ever.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Governance in decentralization is often the real blocker—not technology. Learn how trust structures decide whether systems succeed or stall.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Centralization vs decentralization isn’t about tech, it's about incentives. What if success looked more distributed?| Spherical Cow Consulting
The cost of decentralization isn’t just money—it’s complexity, redundancy, and effort. Learn what to weigh before you build for resilience.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Centralized vs decentralized? The smartest architectures can shift. Learn why flexibility is key to resilient system and identity design.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Learn why businesses should adopt digital credentials and how they combat fraud while navigating complex environments.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Navigate the tension between identity standards and reality in CIAM and the gap between aspiration and execution.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Understand the competing terminology of digital credentials, verifiable credentials, and verifiable digital credentials.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Get a better understanding of Non-Human Identities (NHI) and how they differ from human identities. NHI require more from IAM.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Read my rant about the challenges faced by identity federations and their relevance to the world of wallets.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Discover how AI is revolutionizing digital identity security, enhancing online safety, and addressing new challenges in today's digital world.| Spherical Cow Consulting
The long-term scalability of digital attestation and verification is a huge problem for IAM that needs attention. Let's talk about it.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Leverage nearly 15 years of expertise in Digital Identity Standards Development with personalized consulting services.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Explore how FedCM tackles the challenge of maintaining federated authentication and why it’s crucial to focus on practical implementation.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Find out why a digital identity standards development service is key for executives and can enhance your product's conformity to standards.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Learn about the looming threat of quantum cryptography and its impact on Internet security. Will our digital world be left vulnerable?| Spherical Cow Consulting
Dive into the world of non-human identities, uncovering the challenges and standards shaping the future of digital authorization.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) has evolved since the 1980s; read on to learn more about the better choices available!| Spherical Cow Consulting
This blog post provides an overview of the verifiable credentials landscape, helping you to understand formats, protocols & the tech used.| Spherical Cow Consulting
Which digital credential format is best? Compare mdoc, Verifiable Credentials, and others for security, adoption, and real-world use cases.| Spherical Cow Consulting