NOTE: I have been posting excerpts from my book World After Capital. Currently we are on the Informational Freedom section and the previous excerpt was on Internet Access. Today looks at the right to be represented by a bot (code that works on your behalf). Bots for All of UsOnce you have access to the Internet, you need software to connect to its many information sources and services. When Sir Tim Berners-Lee first invented the World Wide Web in 1989 to make information sharing on the Intern...

NOTE: I have been posting excerpts from my book World After Capital. Currently we are on the Informational Freedom section and the previous excerpt was on Internet Access. Today looks at the right to be represented by a bot (code that works on your behalf). Bots for All of UsOnce you have access to the Internet, you need software to connect to its many information sources and services. When Sir Tim Berners-Lee first invented the World Wide Web in 1989 to make information sharing on the Intern...

In investing there is uncertainty about returns. Some investments do well, others do poorly. But that is not the only risk that investors are concerned about when they are investing professionally on behalf of others. There is also the issue of perception: it is one thing not to make money in a sector, it is another not to make money in that sector when everyone else appears to be making money in it. Similarly, it is one thing to lose money on a trade, it is another to lose money on a trade t...

In investing there is uncertainty about returns. Some investments do well, others do poorly. But that is not the only risk that investors are concerned about when they are investing professionally on behalf of others. There is also the issue of perception: it is one thing not to make money in a sector, it is another not to make money in that sector when everyone else appears to be making money in it. Similarly, it is one thing to lose money on a trade, it is another to lose money on a trade t...

We have entered a new phase of the discussion on what to do about speech on platforms such as Twitter. On the plus side many more people are engaged. On the minus side the calls to treat Twitter as a traditional publisher are growing (incidentally based on a misunderstanding of what being a publisher implies). Let me start by repeating something I have written before: many of Twitter’s problems are self inflicted. In particular, Twitter has messed up its checkmark system and Twitter has been ...

We have entered a new phase of the discussion on what to do about speech on platforms such as Twitter. On the plus side many more people are engaged. On the minus side the calls to treat Twitter as a traditional publisher are growing (incidentally based on a misunderstanding of what being a publisher implies). Let me start by repeating something I have written before: many of Twitter’s problems are self inflicted. In particular, Twitter has messed up its checkmark system and Twitter has been ...

Wishing everyone a belated Thanksgiving. If you have some time today or over the weekend, I recommend watching this video of VP Mike Pence talking about the administration’s approach to China Then follow it by watching this video by Hank Paulson who proposes a different approach but seem clearly pessimistic about where this is headed. The deterioration of US-China relations is a massive tail risk. The recent sell-off in the stock market may be a partial reflection of that but doesn’t even beg...

Wishing everyone a belated Thanksgiving. If you have some time today or over the weekend, I recommend watching this video of VP Mike Pence talking about the administration’s approach to China Then follow it by watching this video by Hank Paulson who proposes a different approach but seem clearly pessimistic about where this is headed. The deterioration of US-China relations is a massive tail risk. The recent sell-off in the stock market may be a partial reflection of that but doesn’t even beg...

NOTE: I have been posting excerpts from my book World After Capital. Today’s section wraps up the section on Universal Basic Income (UBI) by addressing a few common objections and arguing that it is a moral imperative.Other Objections to UBII have already addressed the three biggest objections to UBI by showing that it is affordable, will not result in inflation, and will be positive for the labor market. There are some other common objections that are worth addressing. The foremost of these ...

NOTE: I have been posting excerpts from my book World After Capital. Today’s section wraps up the section on Universal Basic Income (UBI) by addressing a few common objections and arguing that it is a moral imperative.Other Objections to UBII have already addressed the three biggest objections to UBI by showing that it is affordable, will not result in inflation, and will be positive for the labor market. There are some other common objections that are worth addressing. The foremost of these ...

NOTE: I have been posting excerpts from my book World After Capital. The last few excerpts have been about Universal Basic Income as a way of expanding Economic Freedom. Today’s section introduces the concept of Informational Freedom. Informational FreedomCan you read any book you want to? Can you listen to all the music that has ever been recorded? Do you have access to any web page at all you wish to consult? Can you easily see your own medical record? Other people’s medical records? Histor...

NOTE: I have been posting excerpts from my book World After Capital. The last few excerpts have been about Universal Basic Income as a way of expanding Economic Freedom. Today’s section introduces the concept of Informational Freedom. Informational FreedomCan you read any book you want to? Can you listen to all the music that has ever been recorded? Do you have access to any web page at all you wish to consult? Can you easily see your own medical record? Other people’s medical records? Histor...

A startup founder I know likes to say that their leadership style is “frequently wrong, but never in doubt.” Often that expression is applied as a critique, such as in Cheryl Wheeler’s song Driving Home, but the founder meant it as a positive model along the lines of the idea that even a bad decision is better than no decision. Given the high degree of uncertainty inherent in startups, how to lead in its presence is one of the crucial founder/CEO challenges. So should a leader share their dou...

A startup founder I know likes to say that their leadership style is “frequently wrong, but never in doubt.” Often that expression is applied as a critique, such as in Cheryl Wheeler’s song Driving Home, but the founder meant it as a positive model along the lines of the idea that even a bad decision is better than no decision. Given the high degree of uncertainty inherent in startups, how to lead in its presence is one of the crucial founder/CEO challenges. So should a leader share their dou...

I have been skeptical about Turing complete on chain computation for a long time. Many early proponents took the position that there is no issue because a mechanism such as Ethereum’s gas limits how long a computation can run. They argued that this means computation will always eventually run out of gas and then stop. But the danger of a program not stopping is not the only thing to worry about in a completely open and interconnected computation system. The more pertinent issue is: what will ...

I have been skeptical about Turing complete on chain computation for a long time. Many early proponents took the position that there is no issue because a mechanism such as Ethereum’s gas limits how long a computation can run. They argued that this means computation will always eventually run out of gas and then stop. But the danger of a program not stopping is not the only thing to worry about in a completely open and interconnected computation system. The more pertinent issue is: what will ...

When Brad Smith from Microsoft had called for the regulation of Facial Recognition technology in July I was concerned about where that might go, as it could easily result in stifling innovation. I was therefore relieved to see the principles that Microsoft put forth yesterday, which are for the most part quite sensible.In particular, I agree and strongly support the due process suggestion on government’s use of facial recognition technology. Surveillance of an individual using facial recognit...

When Brad Smith from Microsoft had called for the regulation of Facial Recognition technology in July I was concerned about where that might go, as it could easily result in stifling innovation. I was therefore relieved to see the principles that Microsoft put forth yesterday, which are for the most part quite sensible.In particular, I agree and strongly support the due process suggestion on government’s use of facial recognition technology. Surveillance of an individual using facial recognit...

NOTE: I have been posting excerpts from my book World After Capital. The previous section introduced the concept of Informational Freedom. Today looks specifically at internet access.Access to the InternetOn occasion, the Internet has come in for derision from those who claim it is only a small innovation compared to, say, electricity or vaccinations. Yet it is not small at all. If you want to learn how electricity or vaccinations work, the Internet suddenly makes that possible for anyone, an...

NOTE: I have been posting excerpts from my book World After Capital. The previous section introduced the concept of Informational Freedom. Today looks specifically at internet access.Access to the InternetOn occasion, the Internet has come in for derision from those who claim it is only a small innovation compared to, say, electricity or vaccinations. Yet it is not small at all. If you want to learn how electricity or vaccinations work, the Internet suddenly makes that possible for anyone, an...