existid

Existid is a term used in discussions of identity and ontology to describe the persistence of a person's existence as a social agent across digital representations. It emphasizes continuity of agency and selfhood across platforms, avatars, and records, contrasting with the fragmentary nature of many online profiles. The term is not widely standardized, and in practice is used mainly in speculative or analytic contexts.

Etymology and scope are uncertain, but existid is commonly treated as a portmanteau of existence and identification. It has appeared in academic blogs and ethics discussions and in some design discourses on identity management. In these uses, existid is sometimes presented as a guiding idea for systems that seek to maintain a continuous existential identity rather than a collection of isolated attributes.

Applications of the concept span philosophy, technology, and policy. In philosophy of technology, existid is used to explore how individuals sustain selfhood amid datafication and platform fragmentation. In information technology, existid informs approaches to linking user actions, devices, and credentials to a single persistent identity, enabling continuity of access and rights across services. In policy discussions, existid raises questions about consent, data portability, and the right to an ontological record of existence.

Criticisms and challenges focus on vagueness and potential essentialism, as well as concerns about centralizing control over a person’s existence. Technical hurdles include creating and maintaining an existid across diverse systems while respecting privacy, data minimization, and cross-domain governance. Proponents argue that a clearly defined existid could improve continuity of digital rights, while critics warn against conflating online representations with real-world identity.

See also: digital identity, persistent identifier, online persona, selfhood.