Minimum Viable Digital Identity Optimization (DIO): From Adversarial Reduction to the Semantic Field Dynamics of Digital Identity

This paper presents Minimum Viable Digital Identity Optimization (MVDIO), a coarse-grained analytical model developed through an adversarial reduction of the broader Digital Identity Optimization (DIO) framework. The paper distinguishes three levels that are often conflated: the existence of a reconstruction mechanism, the existence of an optimizable digital identity problem, and deliberate DIO intervention. It defines the minimal analytical distinction between a referentially continuous entity, its distributed digital representational state, and the identity reconstruction performed by a human or machine observer. The reduction revises several strong assumptions. Consistency is distinguished from uniformity; divergent reconstructions are not automatically semantic fragmentation; optimization requires a defined observation domain; target reconstructions are constrained by referential continuity and identity-preserving constraints; and semantic vulnerability is treated as a property of robustness and risk rather than as a failure state in itself. The paper then examines where the minimal model reaches its limits. History, statefulness, inertia, reflexivity, and path dependence require a finer-grained description. In this context, the six dimensions of the K6 semantic connectome - Entity, Representation, Interpretation, Trust, Relationship, and Reconstruction - are reconsidered as a candidate model of the synchronous configuration and diachronic dynamics of digital identity. K6 is not presented as a logical consequence of MVDIO, a linear pipeline, or a literal graph of causal nodes. It is proposed as a finer-grained decomposition of the same dynamic object, whose completeness and explanatory independence remain open to further testing. The paper positions DIO in relation to adjacent fields including entity resolution, entity identity information management, identity management, organizational identity and reputation, online personal branding, data doubles, and sensemaking. It concludes with three minimal tests - mechanism, problem, and intervention - and identifies directions for empirical operationalization and falsification.