Known Systems AI spins out of Identity Digital to make AI agents accountable to their owners

Identity Digital Inc., a domain name registrar company, has spun out a new company called Known Systems AI Inc. The spinout aims to make AI agents more accountable by creating a shared accountability layer for these agents. This initiative originated from Identity Digital’s AI agent identity initiative, which launched earlier this year as Innovation Labs.

Shortly after, Innovation Labs released an open, neural framework for accountable AI identities called DNSid, which serves as a "birth certificate for AI agents." DNSid is built on Domain Name System, public key infrastructure, and an immutable blockchain ledger, enabling inter-operability of agent accountability across organizational boundaries.

With DNSid, AI agents gain a persistent identity tied to their creator, allowing the entity to always be held accountable for its actions. This technology allows agents to interact with third-party platforms without establishing individual trust relationships with each one, a crucial feature as AI agents become more pervasive and capable across the web.

Many organizations and individuals already use AI agents to autonomously perform tasks, but existing identity and access management tools lack a way to establish accountability when agents operate across different platforms and systems. Identity Digital believes that a shared accountability layer is necessary for enterprise-scale AI agent management.

Known Systems AI will work on advancing DNSid as an open standard for agent identification and building the tools needed for organizations to scale accountability. The company has already submitted an Internet-Draft to the Internet Engineering Task Force and is working with the Linux Foundation via the Agentic AI Foundation and LF Decentralized Trust.

Known will retain close ties with Identity Digital, which is a major investor and holds a seat on its board of directors. Ethos Capital, the primary owner of Identity Digital, will also support Known. Allie Kline, a partner at Ethos Capital, will serve as the interim CEO of Known while the search for a permanent leader is underway. Kline emphasized the importance of accountability in building trust for broader AI agent adoption.