Computational Governance and Violable Contracts for Blockchain Applications

We propose a sociotechnical, yet computational, approach to building decentralized applications that accommodates and exploits blockchain technology. Our architecture incorporates the notion of a declarative, violable contract and enables flexible governance based on formal organizational structures, correctness verification without obstructing autonomy, and a basis for trust

Smart Contracts to Support the Advancement of Blockchain Technology in the Security Integrity

The development of technology today is used as a benchmark in the advancement of the industrial world where the development of technology has influenced various aspects in the life of today's society. Smart contracts as one form of blockchain technology that resembles a conventional contract can be used to bind agreements between one party and another. One difference between a smart contract and a conventional contract is the smart contract that is stored in the blockchain. With the presence of smart contracts on the blockchain has become one of the most sought-after technologies, because the number of users is high enough for each transaction within the company. In this case various features of smart contracts applications in various worlds, ranging from financial services, life sciences, energy resources and media voting. Smart contracts still pose a lot of challenges that overwhelm the interaction of some Parties, such as users, developers, and organizations built on smart contracts. Smart contracts are essentially a very effective source of problem solvers, where smart contracts on the blockchain make it easy to maintain data security, and save costs and time. In addition, in the absence of third parties strongly minimizes the fraud that is often done by irresponsible parties, this prevents conflicts between parties. Prone to cases of loss of a document is generated because there is no secure storage media. The advent of smart contracts on the blockchain is expected to be a solution to tackle most of the world's commercial and bureaucratic systems. &nbsp

Interaction-Oriented Software Engineering:Programming abstractions for autonomy and decentralization

We review the main ideas and elements of Interaction-Oriented Software Engineering (IOSE), a program of research that we have pursued for the last two decades, a span of time in which it has grown from philosophy to practical programming abstractions. What distinguishes IOSE from any other program of research is its emphasis on supporting autonomy by modeling the meaning of communication and using that as the basis for engineering decentralized sociotechnical systems. Meaning sounds esoteric but is the basis for practical decision making and a holy grail for the field of distributed systems. We describe our contributions so far, directions for research, and the potential for broad impact on computing

A Service-Oriented Perspective on Blockchain Smart Contracts

Smart contracts turn blockchains into distributed computing platforms. This article studies whether smart contracts as implemented by state-of-the-art blockchain technology may serve as component technology for a computing paradigm like service-oriented computing (SOC) in the blockchain, in order to foster reuse and increase cost-effectiveness

Data Rights Law 3.0

With a global view and a vision of our digital future, we should move forward with an understanding of data rights legislation at pace. The earlier we set the value norms around data in this digital long distance race, the more likely we will grasp the opportunities therein and embrace a future of commonly understood values. With a view to the future, the branch of Chinese law that is most likely to lead the world is that related to the digital economy. At the same time, if China wants to be amongst the world’s leading digital economies, the basics to be understood and promoted most are higher quality, fairer and more sustainable institutional protection for data rights and subject-relevant interests, and the ability to offer systematic and accurate legal rules within the various digital disciplines

Towards a digital ethics: EDPS ethics advisory group

The EDPS Ethics Advisory Group (EAG) has carried out its work against the backdrop of two significant social-political moments: a growing interest in ethical issues, both in the public and in the private spheres and the imminent entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018. For some, this may nourish a perception that the work of the EAG represents a challenge to data protection professionals, particularly to lawyers in the field, as well as to companies struggling to adapt their processes and routines to the requirements of the GDPR. What is the purpose of a report on digital ethics, if the GDPR already provides all regulatory requirements to protect European citizens with regard to the processing of their personal data? Does the existence of this EAG mean that a new normative ethics of data protection will be expected to fill regulatory gaps in data protection law with more flexible, and thus less easily enforceable ethical rules? Does the work of the EAG signal a weakening of the foundation of legal doctrine, such as the rule of law, the theory of justice, or the fundamental values supporting human rights, and a strengthening of a more cultural approach to data protection? Not at all. The reflections of the EAG contained in this report are not intended as the continuation of policy by other means. It neither supersedes nor supplements the law or the work of legal practitioners. Its aims and means are different. On the one hand, the report seeks to map and analyse current and future paradigm shifts which are characterised by a general shift from analogue experience of human life to a digital one. On the other hand, and in light of this shift, it seeks to re-evaluate our understanding of the fundamental values most crucial to the well-being of people, those taken for granted in a data-driven society and those most at risk. The objective of this report is thus not to generate definitive answers, nor to articulate new norms for present and future digital societies but to identify and describe the most crucial questions for the urgent conversation to come. This requires a conversation between legislators and data protection experts, but also society at large - because the issues identified in this report concern us all, not only as citizens but also as individuals. They concern us in our daily lives, whether at home or at work and there isn’t a place we could travel to where they would cease to concern us as members of the human species

Computational Theory of Mind for Human-Agent Coordination

In everyday life, people often depend on their theory of mind, i.e., their ability to reason about unobservable mental content of others to understand, explain, and predict their behaviour. Many agent-based models have been designed to develop computational theory of mind and analyze its effectiveness in various tasks and settings. However, most existing models are not generic (e.g., only applied in a given setting), not feasible (e.g., require too much information to be processed), or not human-inspired (e.g., do not capture the behavioral heuristics of humans). This hinders their applicability in many settings. Accordingly, we propose a new computational theory of mind, which captures the human decision heuristics of reasoning by abstracting individual beliefs about others. We specifically study computational affinity and show how it can be used in tandem with theory of mind reasoning when designing agent models for human-agent negotiation. We perform two-agent simulations to analyze the role of affinity in getting to agreements when there is a bound on the time to be spent for negotiating. Our results suggest that modeling affinity can ease the negotiation process by decreasing the number of rounds needed for an agreement as well as yield a higher benefit for agents with theory of mind reasoning.</p

Landscapes of transition: state, company and Indigenous community human rights dynamics in South America’s lithium triangle

The scramble for minerals, such as lithium, critical to renewable energy technologies is a feature of our race to decarbonise. At the same time, changing societal expectations are increasing pressure on companies to operate in a manner that respects human rights, including Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Situated at the nexus of these global trends, this thesis examines business and human rights (BHR) dynamics at rights-holder level in the context of extraction in South America’s ‘lithium triangle’. Examining how legal and non-legal factors translate to corporate behaviour and rights outcomes on the ground, the thesis addresses the research question: What are the key intersecting factors shaping corporate engagement with Indigenous communities and their rights in the lithium triangle? Based on extensive in-person empirical research in the region, it examines the complex dynamics between governments, companies and Indigenous communities. Empirical chapters reveal a broad range of factors influencing corporate engagement and thereby better rights outcomes. These can be distilled into four key themes: 1. Human rights pathways: state human rights commitments are transmitted to lithium triangle companies by more indirect means than traditional compliance with horizontal obligations would demonstrate. 2. Shifting dynamics: changing expectations of companies, particularly in the context of decarbonisation, has created a rapidly evolving landscape of pressure on companies from downstream customers and other actors in the lithium value chain. 3. Indigenous rights: Indigenous communities in the lithium triangle have become powerful advocates for their own rights, creating significant bottom-up influence and altering traditional corporate perceptions of risk. 4. State absence: partial absence and significant lack of capacity of the state has resulted in the effective ‘privatisation’ of certain rights, leaving companies to fill the gap. That lithium technology is potentially rights-enhancing at a global level while its extraction at local level may be rights-endangering is a juxtaposition foregrounding the need for a just transition and raising interesting questions about the realities of rights on the ground in the presence of a prevailing global economic imperative. The lithium triangle is a powerful case study highlighting the need for governments, companies and communities to work closely together to minimise negative rights impacts and maximise positive outcomes