Agentic AI without distinct, verifiable digital identities is a ticking time bomb for trust and regulatory compliance. The failures we see in AI systems are not random bugs—they are symptoms of missing identity frameworks that assign accountability and enable transparency. M3’s 2023 AI ethics masterclass showed a 30% rise in fake user profiles on e-commerce platforms caused by AI-driven identity fraud, directly linked to the absence of verifiable agent identities. The problem isn’t AI agency. It’s AI anonymity. I call this Agentic Identity Deficit . Without a secure identity layer for autonomous AI agents, liability blurs, misuse multiplies, and user trust collapses. An AI system making decisions that impact millions but has no accountable identity is ungovernable by design. Regulators demand accountability. Users demand transparency. Without identity, neither is possible.…