Tony Scott, the CTO of General Motors, is talking about digital identity at GM.  The interesting thing to me is how similar his problem was to the problem we face in Utah today: multiple fragmented systems controlled by dozens of relatiely independent organizations with multiple identity representations for any given customer.  They've solved the problem over the last few years. 

I like that this has enabled me to take my Silverado Pickup to multiple dealerships and have the history of the vehicle maintenance available.  This has to be more efficient for GM and should result in better maintenance for my vehicles.  

Something that I think is lost on many is how this change enabled GM's OnStar service.  OnStar puts a vehicle on the net.  In my opinion, there's a dark side to this.  I'm not all that excited about having a tracking device that rats on me installed in my vehicle.  Seems that its got a lot of upside for GM and limited upside for me (at least with my lifestyle--I don't frequently get a flat tire, lock myself out of my car or forget to change my oil).  I wonder if you can program OnStar to not tell GM information about your car?  

Digital ID brings to the front exactly these kinds of conflicts between benefit and loss of privacy.  We fight the same issues with on-line government services.