Watch the internet on November 18th – spent today in a recording studio to talk about… to be announced 😉

In a world where code writes code, where builds are automated, and where AI assists every step of development, “trust” can no longer stand alone.

For years, we’ve relied on digital signatures as proof that a piece of software came from who it claimed to come from. That used to be enough. But as supply-chain attacks evolve – from compromised build systems to stolen signing certificates – it’s becoming painfully clear:

A signature without transparency is just a locked box with no audit trail.

Microsoft’s latest initiative, Signing Transparency, moves the industry toward a new standard: verifiable accountability.

💡 From Trust to Verification

Imagine a world where every signing event – every binary, container, or firmware – leaves a cryptographically verifiable footprint in an immutable, tamper-evident ledger.

That’s exactly what Signing Transparency enables. It’s not about replacing code signing; it’s about augmenting it with visibility. Each signing event is logged, time-stamped, and confirmed in an append-only Merkle-tree ledger, so anyone can verify who signed what, and when.

It’s like going from a handshake agreement to a notarized public record — without slowing the process down.

🧭 What This Means for Secure-by-Design

This is where I see something bigger: secure-by-design evolving into secure-by-default.

Transparency doesn’t just protect you from external threats; it also protects you from your own blind spots.
It makes internal missteps visible. It turns “we didn’t know” into “we could have known.”

In practice, this means that release pipelines, AI-generated code, firmware, and even open-source dependencies can all have a traceable, verifiable chain of custody – not just a promise of integrity, but proof of it.

⚙️ The Chain of Accountability

Every stage of the software lifecycle – from build to deployment – can be thought of as a ledger entry.

Every signature tells a story: who signed, what was signed, when, and under what conditions.

That kind of transparency doesn’t slow innovation; it amplifies trust across teams, vendors, and customers.

And in regulated industries like finance and healthcare, it’s a game-changer – not because it adds bureaucracy, but because it replaces assumptions with evidence.

🧩 The Bigger Lesson

We often talk about “Zero Trust” in infrastructure. But it’s time to apply the same mindset to software provenance.

• 🔒 Zero Trust doesn’t mean suspicion – it means verifiable confidence.
• 🤝 It means designing systems that can prove their integrity without asking for your blind faith.
• 💎 And that, ultimately, is what builds resilient ecosystems – in technology and beyond.

🚀 Closing Thought

Transparency is the new trust.

Accountability is the new assurance.

And in a world where every build, every AI model, and every line of code travels faster than ever before, the most innovative thing you can do might just be to make your process visible.

A few weeks ago, I ticked out a big bucket list item of mine – I keynoted the IEEE conference! Here is a summary of my session:

♟️ In 1997, Deep Blue beat Gary Kasparov.
⚫ In 2016, AlphaGo beat Lee Sedol.
➗ In 2025, GPT solved Math Olympiad problems.

Every time, humanity was “doomed.” 🔥

And every time – we adapted, evolved, and led again.

The next chapter? 📑

🤖 AI assistants and agents are becoming part of our daily workflows.
🧑‍🏭 Workers are shifting from writing text to curating intent, from syntax to context, from task execution to strategic design.

We’re not disappearing.

We’re moving up the stack – to creativity, empathy, and leadership.

Spatial computing, quantum breakthroughs, neural linking, robotics, and fusion energy are not replacing us.

They’re amplifying us.

By 2040, we’ll still have 🧑‍⚕️ doctors, 🧑‍⚖️ lawyers, and 🧑‍🔬 engineers – but they’ll be augmented, accelerated, and inspired by AI.

🌍 The future of work isn’t man or machine. It’s man with machine, building what’s next – together.

I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new role as an external part time remote Expert at Primary Venture Partners! As an Expert, I provide a unique vantage point into early-stage innovation, where emerging technologies, bold ideas, and visionary leaders intersect. Through this top-tier seed-stage network, I get to collaborate with exceptional people shaping what comes next.

Forbes Councils bring together leaders shaping technology’s future: innovators, builders, thinkers, and doers; and I’m truly honored to be among them.

To me, this isn’t just a recognition; it’s an invitation:

• 💡 to share ideas that move our industry forward
• 🤝 to collaborate with peers who care deeply about technology’s impact
• 🌍 and to continue amplifying the human side of innovation: openness, empathy, and purpose.

From hackathons to high-performance computing, from open source readiness to quantum discussions – every step in this journey has been about learning, sharing, and building together.

I’m excited to contribute thought-leadership pieces, engage with this incredible community, and bring the conversations I’ve been having in the FINOS, Microsoft, and open tech ecosystems to a global stage through Forbes.

Here’s to the next chapter of building bridges, not silos, in technology. 🚀