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1 results

  • 9 - The Siren Song: Algorithmic Governance by Blockchain

  • from Part III - Humanity
  • Edited by Kevin Werbach
  • Book:
    After the Digital Tornado
    Published online:
    24 August 2020
    Print publication:
    23 July 2020, pp 215-240
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  • Summary

    One of the most plausible scenarios for how newer technologies might disrupt and reconstitute the Internet economy is based on blockchain and related mechanisms. Because of their fundamental decentralization, enforced through cryptography, these technologies hold out the promise of resisting the centralization of control by dominant digital platforms. The problem is that the power of blockchain to create trust without reliance on trusted third parties depends on immutable transactions. And that means prospectively limiting human freedom of action. Replacing human judgment with relentlessly logical machines operating self-enforcing “smart contracts” has already produced several spectacular failures. Immutability inevitably creates the possibility of catastrophe, unless paired with governance mechanisms that keep humans in the loop. The best possible approach is governance by design, incorporating layers of coordinated decision-making throughout the design of blockchain networks and applications.