i am that i am

Cryptographic statements

Certain cryptographic statements are possible using Public Key Cryptography. A cryptographic statement is a statement expressed in code that with reasonable probability proves someone in possession of a private key signs and states a statement is true.

For Example:

{"statement":
    {
        "owner": "email@example.org",
        "item_owned": {
            "name": "iPhone",
            "serial_number": 1234567,

        }

     },
    "signed_by": "shai7exahthiiFoh0iephie3soagiloo",
    "signature": "eemohdae8aez9uedie6ohZ3jieY1dahv"
 }

In this fictitious example, the statement says in code that the something named iPhone with a serial number of 1234567 is owned byemail@example.org. The signed by is a public key with a digital signature. If these were real values, one could verify that this full statement (including the signature and signed by) could only be produced with knowledge of the private key matching the public key signed_by.

If the private key is controlled, and exclusively known by a conscious entity, we can make the assumption that whatever conscious entity created and signed this document does testify to its accuracy. Of course people can lie, so whether it is true or not is a different story.

If conscious entities assign meaning to machine readable documents, then lawful statements can be made in code.