The global stage is witnessing a monumental shift, as UN Member States have formally endorsed a comprehensive framework for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) with the adoption of the ‘Pact for the Future’. This landmark commitment, though non-binding, signals a unified push towards a digitally integrated future, with global digital ID schemes at its very core. Understanding this initiative means delving into the ambitious vision for a world where digital identity is not just a convenience, but a foundational element of civic life.
Understanding Digital Public Infrastructure and the Global Commitment
At the UN Summit of the Future in September 2024, 193 member states embraced the “Pact for the Future.” This agreement committed nations to rolling out digital ID schemes as part of a wider plan for Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). DPI is envisioned as a civic technology stack, fundamentally comprising three main components: digital identity, fast payment systems (including programmable Central Bank Digital Currency [CBDC] systems, stablecoins, and online banking apps), and massive data exchanges between public and private entities.
One year post-adoption, some countries are rapidly advancing digital ID while others may be slow-walking towards DPI, just waiting for a regime change, perceived crisis, or policy update to bring it all online: perspective. The UK, for instance, has notably moved towards mandatory digital ID for all adult workers, showcasing a swift progression in the western world.
While the “Pact for the Future” achieved consensus, its non-binding nature means countries aren’t legally bound to surrender sovereignty. Yet, many are aligning with the plan. And for those countries who may be reluctant to announce digital ID schemes now, all it takes is a change of administration, a policy update, or a perceived emergency to get the ball rolling again.
The ‘Pact for the Future’ and the Role of Digital Identity
Embedded within the “Pact for the Future” is the “Global Digital Compact,” an annex specifically dedicated to advancing DPI globally. Interestingly, nowhere in this extensive document do the words “digital ID” or “digital identity” explicitly appear. However, they are unequivocally fundamental to the entire concept of Digital Public Infrastructure, serving as the linchpin for seamless digital interaction and service provision.
UN member states have implicitly agreed to assist in digital ID rollouts by 2030 through several commitments:
“We commit by 2030 to develop and decide on a set of safeguards for inclusive, responsible, safe, secure and user-centered digital public infrastructure that can be implemented in different contexts (SDG 16)”
They also committed to exchanging and making publicly available best practices, increasing investment and funding towards digital public goods, and encouraging partnerships that leverage DPI for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 16 and 17). Everything ties back to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aka Agenda 2030.
Despite the lack of explicit naming in the document, the agenda for global digital identity schemes was openly discussed at the Summit of the Future. UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner emphasized the UNDP’s crucial role in expanding Digital Public Infrastructure universally.
Steiner envisioned a 2030 where, “Every person now has a secure digital identity — you’re imagining the year 2030. This has unlocked services that were previously out of reach of so many.” He further fantasized about a young mother gaining access to education and healthcare, saying, “for the first time, ‘I feel seen,’ she said.”
This perspective reveals a core objective: to make life nearly impossible to live without digital identity schemes. With services, credentials, and documents centralized on interoperable systems, digital identity becomes a potent tool. It offers potential for complete control over individuals by incentivizing, coercing, or manipulating human behavior. This is our “digital destiny.”
As Steiner articulated, “This is a moment to redefine our digital destiny […] Part of the UN’s promise […] includes driving progress on Digital Public Infrastructure […] The means to an end.” The UN’s “Building & Securing Digital Public Infrastructure Playbook” further reinforces this, stating, “People-centered smart cities need accessible, secure, and fair digital public infrastructure that powers digital services, and ensures everyone has equal opportunity to fully participate in civic life.” The playbook explicitly names digital identity as foundational, alongside digital payments and data exchange, for digital service transactions.
Global Push: Key Players and National Implementations
The United Nations is not alone in championing digital identity. In October 2023, the UN, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and partners like the Rockefeller Foundation launched the “50-in-5” campaign. This initiative aims to accelerate at least one DPI component—digital ID, digital payments, or data sharing—in 50 countries by 2028. Melinda French Gates highlighted the goal, stating, “By 2028, more than 500 million more people will have a digital identity that allows them to access employment and education opportunities more easily, as well as financial services, healthcare, and government programs.”
This coalition extends to the World Bank, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, the G20, and the World Economic Forum (WEF), all intertwined in a common agenda to ensure global digital ID adoption. The WEF itself notes that digital identity “determines what products, services and information we can access,” and crucially, “what is closed off to us.” This starkly defines the reality of global digital ID. It’s not about curbing illegal immigration or securing jobs; it’s about surveillance and control through coercion and force.
The UK’s mandatory digital ID for all adult workers, alongside internet passports for age verification under the UK Online Safety Act, illustrates this coercive approach, mirrored in Australia and the European Union. Even in the United States, despite assurances of opt-in systems, the agenda is advancing. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed US commitment to the Pact for the Future. President Donald Trump has advocated for biometric, entry-exit visa tracking and the digitization of healthcare records, which, while framed as voluntary, could lead to mandatory systems.
A US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Request for Information (RFI) on the “Health Technology Ecosystem” reveals discussions about encouraging, requiring, and even mandating digital identity schemes, exploring the impact of protocols like OpenID Connect. Questions like, “What would providers need help with to accelerate the transition to a single set of trusted digital identity credentials for the patient to keep track of, instead of one for each provider?” demonstrate the clear intent for a unified digital identity.
Driving much of this digital transformation are powerful figures like Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, a close associate of former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Ellison has significantly invested in Blair’s institute, sharing a vision for digital ID-linked national data libraries. Investigative journalist Michael Shellenberger highlighted Ellison’s ambition for “data centralization and total surveillance,” quoting him: “‘Citizens will be on their best behavior because we’re constantly watching & recording everything that’s going on.’ Terrifying.”
Ellison, at the World Governments Summit 2025, proposed a single, unified data platform to house all information about a country’s population—from healthcare to social services. His argument: “All this [fragmented] information we have about our country […] We need to take that and unify that into a single database, so when we ask questions, the data model has all the information it needs to answer the question, discover the insight, and recommend an action.” Two weeks later, Blair’s institute released a blueprint for the UK’s “National Data Library,” explicitly stating, “None of this would be possible without efforts to improve the broader data infrastructure, including efforts around interoperability and digital identity.”
This convergence of globalist think tanks, big tech, NGOs, and governments, backed by financial institutions, underscores a singular purpose. As India’s digital ID architect Nandan Nilekani stated, “What are the tools of the New World? Everybody should have a digital ID; everybody should have a bank account; everybody should have a smartphone.”
Indeed, everything else is built on that foundation. Your social credit score, your carbon allowance, your travel permits, your health status, what you are allowed to buy or sell, where you are allowed to transact, what you are able to say on social media — everything is built on digital ID. Once every citizen on the planet is pegged to a digital identity, they can become completely controllable.
The Digital Destiny and What Lies Ahead
Unless you’re from Russia, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Belarus, Syria, or Sudan, your government has already committed, in a non-binding way, to rolling out digital ID, fast payment systems, and massive data exchanges by the year 2030. Some countries and regions are rapidly advancing DPI while others may be slow-walking towards digital slavery, just waiting for the right regime change, perceived crisis, or policy update to bring it all online.
Vaccine passports and lockdowns were a trial-run. They put the technological foundation in place and they were the litmus test for compliance. Now, digital ID is being forced on entire populations. Next, DPI will be used to monitor, manipulate, and monetize everything in nature in the name of preserving biodiversity. Digital ID is the key to everything. Total control over people and planet. This is Agenda 2030. This is the Great Reset.
The Sociable has been documenting digital ID, Agenda 2030, the great reset, and DPI for almost five years while explaining what has been coming for us all. Feel free to make full use of the menu and search bars on our website to view our archives.
Tim Hinchliffe – Editor – The Sociable
