In Episode 4 of The Calculus of IT, Mike Crispin and I dive deep into what happens when "proof of X" becomes the fundamental currency of digital interaction. We're entering an era where verification matters more than the technology itself and IT leaders are on the front lines whether we're ready or not.

We explore the five pillars that need verification:

• Identity (are you who you say you are?)
• Humanity (are you even human?)
• Authority (are you authorized to do this?)
• Provenance (did you actually create this?)
• Expertise (do you actually know what the fuck you're talking about?)

From deepfakes and social engineering at industrial scale to the coming wave of AI agents that need their own credentials, we break down why your company's verification gap is probably bigger than you think and what you need to do about it.

Fair warning: This is Part 1 of a two-part episode. We got so deep into the weeds (in the best way) that we had to split it. Next week, we'll tackle IT's specific role in all this chaos, the impossible balance between friction and security, and whether continuous verification is our future or our nightmare.

Mike drops his latest prediction: We're moving from a governance economy to a verification economy. Instead of asking permission upfront, we'll increasingly ask forgiveness afterward with an army of human verifiers cleaning up the mess. He even coins two new roles you'll see in 2028: Chief Truth Officer and Model Auditor (complete with an otter mascot, obviously).

Key moments you won't want to miss:

• The safe word strategy we implemented at Xilio (and why you need one too)
• Why 60% of LinkedIn accounts are now fake—and what that means for professional networking
• The uncomfortable question: If an employee uses AI to create 90% of their deliverable, did they create it? And do you care if it's good?
• Why verification fatigue is about to become your biggest user experience problem
• Sam Altman's ben-wah ball crypto solution to solve the world's identity

This episode will make you question everything about how you onboard employees, verify identities, and trust the content flowing through your systems. Because whether you're ready or not, we're building systems where proving you're real is becoming harder than faking it.

Listen now, and join us next week for Part 2 where we tackle the really hard questions about IT's role in making verification work without turning your organization into a surveillance state.

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