When Credentials Cause Harm
Unpacking the Risks of Verifiable Learning and Work Records
Published on 28. November 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
350 pages
978-1-969861-00-0 (ISBN)
Description
Verifiable digital records of learning and work and digital credentials promise to unlock opportunity, until they don't. When record and credential systems fail, they can trap workers in rigid pathways, exclude learners from advancement, and turn trust into a commodity that some can afford and others cannot.
When Credentials Cause Harm exposes how emerging verifiable record and digital credentialing systems perpetuate inequity in learning and work contexts, even as they're marketed as tools of empowerment. More importantly, it charts a path forward: showing how verifiable digital records and credentials can expand freedom when designed with equity and human rights at the center.
For anyone building, implementing, or affected by digital record and credentialing systems, this book reveals what's at stake and how to build systems that truly serve people.
Book 1 in the When We Cause Harm Series
More details
Person
Dr. Kelly Page is a social design ethnographer and inclusive usability designer committed to developing inclusive, accessible, and consent-driven innovations, as well as creating truly caring and inclusive cultures, leaders, and experiences.With a PhD in the Psychology of Web Knowledge, she has over 25 years of experience working at the intersection of social innovation, usability, and digital transformation. Her work explores the adoption and use of learning and earning technologies, digital credentialing, Web3, and inclusive and usable consent-driven design. She is the founder and CEO of LWYL Studio and an affiliate faculty member at the University of Colorado Denver. Her research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals and featured in The New York Times, Fast Company, and The Wall Street Journal. She advises emerging tech leaders, guides boards and product teams in building more inclusive product and service innovations, and serves as a research and learning fellow. Other books by Dr. Page include the 'When We Cause Harm' book series and the 'By CoDesign' book series. To learn more, search for her titles online or follow Dr. Page on social media at @drkellypage and @LWYLStudio.