Estonia's government plans to issue digital identities to AI agents

Estonia has set out to become the first country to create IDs for AI agents in an effort to avoid losing control over the technology, which is spreading fast in its digitally advanced society.

The move, aimed primarily at ensuring accountability while using artificial intelligence, was announced this week and is already raising questions about digital identity, both in the EU and beyond.

Estonia to introduce digital IDs for AI bots

The Estonian government wants to establish digital identities for AI-powered agents that are enjoying a growing popularity in the tech-savvy Baltic state.

The decision was announced Wednesday, following a meeting of the Eesti.ai advisory board at the Stenbock House, the seat of the government in Tallinn.

The body, established on the initiative of Prime Minister Kristen Michal, agreed to proceed with a plan to introduce special “AI ID codes” for the new type of bots.

The head of the executive arm backed its proposal to provide a solution allowing AI to act for people, companies and organizations in a “verifiable and auditable” manner.

Artificial intelligence will carry out more and more digital tasks on their behalf, Michal noted in a statement quoted by his cabinet’s press service, elaborating further:

Granting digital identities to AI assistants will help those who are using them limit their activities and control their powers, the government also insisted.

Estonia, which pioneered digital identification for persons and firms in its region, can now lead the pack in doing the same for AI agents, added the prime minister.

According to Kristen Michal, the Estonian society needs to find a way to utilize them to make life easier for everybody, but without losing control and accountability.

“If we act quickly, and smartly, Estonia will become the first country in the world to create official digital identities for AI agents,” stressed Michal, who has been in office for almost two years.

Will the EU follow Estonia’s example?

The issue with anonymous AI agents acting autonomously has already been discussed at the EU level, the European political news outlet Euractiv pointed out in a report on Thursday.

A paper circulated last fall, amid ongoing talks on the future of the Union’s justice policy, acknowledged that the bloc’s current legislation “does not confer legal personality upon AI systems,” explaining:

At the time, some member states spoke against introducing dedicated rules, citing “regulatory fatigue.” Capitals and companies have been expressing concerns over the risks of throttling AI innovation.

Meanwhile, the European Commission, working with national governments, has been moving closer to finalizing and implementing the so-called European Identity Wallets.

These are intended to facilitate digital identification for EU citizens and businesses. It’s still unclear whether the new system will be expanded to cover AI agents as well.

A challenge that needs global attention

Experts say that the Estonian decision to assign identities to AI agents will have wide implications in terms of trust in the assistants relying on artificial intelligence.

According to the head of digital identity at the biometrics firm Jumio, Philipp Pointner, Tallinn’s move is setting a precedent on how people should audit these systems.

“Estonia’s initiative recognizes that digital trust requires identity systems that can distinguish between human identity and agent authority,” he explained, quoted by Biometric Update, adding:

Estonian authorities believe that AI agents are not just code and must have built-in accountability, the website highlighted.

It also referenced a recent article by the Boston Consulting Group, in which the global management consulting firm argued, too, that AI agents need to have identities.

“As AI agents grow more autonomous, companies must deliberately embed their purpose, values, and culture into every interaction—or risk scaling sameness,” BCG insisted.

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