#438 - Identiverse 2026 - Sean O'Dell

<p>Recorded live at Identiverse 2026 in Las Vegas, Jeff sits down with Decoded co-host Sean O&#39;Dell for a wide-ranging state of the union on continuous identity, shared signals, and the identity questions AI keeps raising. Sean shares what he is hearing on the ground about the upcoming transaction tokens spec, why continuous identity has moved from concept to mainstream adoption, and how shared signals are expanding into commerce. The conversation shifts to AI: the real cost of securing it, why model provenance matters, and the murky question of who is on the hook when an AI agent makes an expensive or harmful decision on your behalf. They debate companion agents, consent versus power of attorney, and whether the identity industry even owns this problem. Sean closes with a simple piece of advice for anyone feeling overwhelmed by AI right now.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Connect with Sean: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanodentity/</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Connect with us on LinkedIn:</p><p><br></p><p>Jim McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmcdonaldpmp/</p><p><br></p><p>Jeff Steadman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsteadman/</p><p><br></p><p>Visit the show on the web at http://idacpodcast.com</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Timestamps:</p><p>00:00 Intro and a Decoded update</p><p>00:44 Transaction tokens spec preview</p><p>01:51 State of the union on continuous identity</p><p>03:39 The questions organizations are asking</p><p>04:34 Is it still all about the data</p><p>05:07 Shared signals framework moving into commerce</p><p>06:40 Is AI a fad at Identiverse this year</p><p>07:11 The real cost of securing AI</p><p>08:00 Model provenance and indemnity</p><p>09:39 IAM for AI versus AI for IAM</p><p>10:18 Trusting agents to act without oversight</p><p>14:51 Assigning authority to the who and the what</p><p>16:13 The cruise booking example and who is on the hook</p><p>20:16 Companion agents, consent, and power of attorney</p><p>23:00 Does the identity industry own this problem</p><p>25:00 Relationship and intent as the real issue</p><p>28:03 Could an insurance market emerge for agentic AI</p><p>29:18 An access review scenario gone wrong</p><p>30:41 Small specialized language models for identity tasks</p><p>32:11 Favorite hallway conversations at Identiverse</p><p>36:05 Wrap up and words of wisdom on AI FOMO</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Keywords: IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Sean O&#39;Dell, Decoded, Identiverse 2026, continuous identity, transaction tokens, shared signals framework, agentic AI, AI security, model provenance, IAM, digital identity, identity and access management</p><p><br></p>