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This page explains how the Nuggets trust model is implemented. Where Key Concepts describes what trust means for autonomous systems - actions, authority, intent, consent, and accountability - this section focuses on the architectural choices and design principles that make that trust model possible in practice. These principles guide how Nuggets is built so that trust can:
  • operate across systems, clouds, and organisations
  • remain verifiable without centralised control
  • preserve privacy while supporting audit and compliance
  • integrate with existing infrastructure rather than replace it
This is not a conceptual description of trust, and it is not a product overview. It describes the technical foundations that allow the Nuggets trust layer to be secure, interoperable, and production-ready for autonomous AI.

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Overview

Nuggets addresses the challenge of trust in digital identity and autonomous AI through infrastructure built on decentralised identity, cryptographic verification, and privacy-preserving design. Rather than relying on centralised authorities or opaque control systems, Nuggets uses open standards and cryptographic techniques to enable verifiable trust across humans, organisations, machines, and AI agents - without requiring replacement of existing IAM, cloud, or enterprise platforms.

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Design Principles

Nuggets’ architecture is guided by four foundational design principles.

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Open Standards

Nuggets is built on open, widely adopted standards to ensure interoperability and avoid vendor lock-in.
  • Uses W3C standards such as Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) and Verifiable Credentials (VCs)
  • Integrates with existing identity, cloud, and enterprise ecosystems
  • Supports cross-vendor, cross-cloud, and cross-organisational deployments

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Cryptographic Trust

Trust in Nuggets is established through cryptographic proof rather than reliance on central authorities.
  • Verifiable identities and credentials are cryptographically secured
  • Proof replaces assumption and implicit trust
  • Architecture supports regulatory and audit requirements without centralised control

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Privacy by Design

Nuggets is designed to minimise data exposure while maximising verifiability.
  • Selective disclosure of attributes
  • Zero-knowledge techniques where appropriate
  • Proof of compliance and consent without disclosure of raw personal data
  • Reduced data retention and breach risk by design

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AI-Ready Infrastructure

The architecture is purpose-built for environments where non-human actors take autonomous action.
  • Supports humans, organisations, machines, and AI agents as first-class actors
  • Designed for non-interactive, continuous operation
  • Scales across distributed, agent-driven systems

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Technical Foundations

Nuggets is built on proven cryptographic and distributed systems technologies.

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Identity and Credential Standards

Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs)
W3C standard for verifiable, self-managed digital identity Verifiable Credentials (VCs)
Cryptographically secure, portable credentials used to prove attributes, authority, and relationships

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Enterprise Integration Standards

OpenID Connect (OIDC)
Federated authentication using existing enterprise identity providers OAuth 2.0
Secure authorisation flows augmented with verifiable credentials and decentralised identity

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Cryptography and Security

Post-Quantum Encryption
Designed to remain secure as cryptographic threats evolve Confidential Computing
Encrypted processing environments using Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) for sensitive operations

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Distributed Verification and Audit

Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Integration
Used for immutable verification, auditability, and integrity guarantees where appropriate (not for centralised data storage)

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AI Protocol Support

  • Model Context Protocol (MCP)
  • Agent-to-Agent (A2A)
  • Compatibility with emerging agent frameworks and protocols
These foundations ensure Nuggets remains secure, interoperable, and adaptable as technology and regulation evolve.

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What This Architecture Enables

The Nuggets trust architecture provides infrastructure that supports the entire lifecycle of autonomous action, without centralising control or data. It enables:
  • Verifiable identity without platform lock-in
  • Privacy-preserving proof rather than data disclosure
  • Cross-system trust without shared identity infrastructure
  • Auditability suitable for regulated and high-risk environments

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Relationship to the Trust Model

To be explicit:
  • The Trust Model defines what must be true for an autonomous action to be trusted
  • The Trust Architecture defines how that truth can be proven
If you are looking to understand:
  • why actions - not logins - are the unit of trust
  • how authority is evaluated at runtime
  • how compliance emerges as an outcome
Start with Key Concepts If you want to understand:
  • why Nuggets uses decentralised identity
  • how cryptographic proof replaces implicit trust
  • how privacy and audit coexist
This page describes the architectural foundations that make that possible.