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WEBVTT captioned by sid

NOTE Problems

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.319
When we think about the problems of the world

00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:12.119
we see global warming, war, appropriation, poverty,

00:00:12.120 --> 00:00:13.879
and among numerous other problems,

00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:16.199
also the inability to make a living

00:00:16.200 --> 00:00:18.839
as an open source developer.

NOTE Solution?

00:00:18.840 --> 00:00:21.999
Now this last problem may seem a lot less consequential

00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:23.479
compared to the other ones,

00:00:23.480 --> 00:00:26.759
but what if I told you that the solution to this problem

00:00:26.760 --> 00:00:30.839
and the solutions to the others are one and the same?

NOTE A common underlying problem

00:00:30.840 --> 00:00:33.479
And it's because there's a common underlying problem

00:00:33.480 --> 00:00:36.119
at the heart of all of these problems.

00:00:36.120 --> 00:00:39.279
I'm going to tell you what that problem is in one sentence.

00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:42.519
You ready for it? It is ...

00:00:42.520 --> 00:00:48.559
the deviation of market value from _true_ value.

00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:50.439
Let's think about this in the context of

00:00:50.440 --> 00:00:55.839
existing economic systems such as capitalism and communism.

NOTE Capitalism

00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:58.679
And of these, I want to focus on capitalism

00:00:58.680 --> 00:01:01.999
because it is the only nontrivial economic system, really.

00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:04.799
Communism is more sort of a political means

00:01:04.800 --> 00:01:06.999
to achieve economic ends.

00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:09.079
And the other economic systems exist

00:01:09.080 --> 00:01:11.679
sort of on a spectrum between these two.

00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:14.319
So let's focus on  capitalism.

00:01:14.320 --> 00:01:19.919
Capitalism has as its basis of value supply and demand.

00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:21.959
And consequently, there is a great emphasis

00:01:21.960 --> 00:01:25.199
on this idea of ownership.

00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:28.719
Now ownership is an idea that made some kind of sense

00:01:28.720 --> 00:01:31.559
when you have goods and services

00:01:31.560 --> 00:01:33.119
that are constrained in some way,

00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:36.119
that are essentially finite in supply.

00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:37.839
But when you have things like

00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:41.079
works of software, art, and music,

00:01:41.080 --> 00:01:43.879
which are essentially infinite in supply,

00:01:43.880 --> 00:01:46.359
the idea of ownership and supply and demand

00:01:46.360 --> 00:01:48.319
don't make sense anymore.

00:01:48.320 --> 00:01:51.679
And yet we employ the institution of property

00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:56.079
to constrain supply and introduce the idea of supply

00:01:56.080 --> 00:01:58.399
just so that we can induce a market value

00:01:58.400 --> 00:02:00.319
in terms of supply and demand

00:02:00.320 --> 00:02:05.759
in a capitalist economic system. And it's wrongheaded.

NOTE Copyright

00:02:05.760 --> 00:02:10.319
How many of us have written copyright declarations

00:02:10.320 --> 00:02:12.919
like these on our work.

00:02:12.920 --> 00:02:14.719
It's a lot of work!

00:02:14.720 --> 00:02:18.159
Especially when we have version control.

00:02:18.160 --> 00:02:19.879
Now in this example,

00:02:19.880 --> 00:02:23.119
almost every line is written by a different person,

00:02:23.120 --> 00:02:25.519
so who owns the code in this case?

00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:27.839
Who owns the copyright here?

00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:30.039
Is it some of them, is it all of them,

00:02:30.040 --> 00:02:32.879
do they share it in some way?

00:02:32.880 --> 00:02:34.879
It doesn't really make sense,

00:02:34.880 --> 00:02:37.759
especially when the reason we're employing

00:02:37.760 --> 00:02:40.079
copyright and ownership in this case

00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:44.079
is to approximate the idea of attribution,

00:02:44.080 --> 00:02:46.559
which is what we really care about here.

00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:50.999
And that brings us to the nature of the solution,

00:02:51.000 --> 00:02:53.159
which is to move away from an economic system

00:02:53.160 --> 00:02:55.879
based on ownership and supply and demand,

00:02:55.880 --> 00:02:59.399
to an economic system based on attribution, instead.

00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:02.479
That is, moving away from who _owns_ what

00:03:02.480 --> 00:03:07.319
to who _did_ what and how important was it.

00:03:07.320 --> 00:03:09.719
And we can do this by the process of

00:03:09.720 --> 00:03:12.959
Dialectical Inheritance Attribution,

00:03:12.960 --> 00:03:16.639
which just means that we do it in a collective way

00:03:16.640 --> 00:03:20.639
using common collectively agreed upon standards

00:03:20.640 --> 00:03:24.239
that are applied transparently to all.

00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:25.599
And when we have an economic system

00:03:25.600 --> 00:03:26.919
that is based on attribution

00:03:26.920 --> 00:03:28.799
as the source of value in this way,

00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:34.719
we call it attribution based economics.

00:03:34.720 --> 00:03:39.279
Now, once we have that, it gives us fairness,

00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:43.639
effective empowerment of expertise,

00:03:43.640 --> 00:03:46.359
freedom through incentives rather than through coercion.

00:03:46.360 --> 00:03:49.839
And privacy as well.

NOTE An attribution-based economic system is efficient

00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:52.359
But I could tell you all of those things

00:03:52.360 --> 00:03:57.079
and some may still say, "Why should I care about this?"

00:03:57.080 --> 00:03:58.279
There are those who would say

00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:00.679
that fairness is not a good goal,

00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:02.999
and that might makes right,

00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:04.599
and that as Darwin showed us,

00:04:04.600 --> 00:04:08.999
the nature of nature is violence.

00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:12.439
Now I know that many of us reject this ideology,

00:04:12.440 --> 00:04:16.359
and we feel in our bones that it is wrong.

00:04:16.360 --> 00:04:19.279
But luckily we don't have to resort to high philosophy

00:04:19.280 --> 00:04:21.759
and gut feeling in order to convince ourselves

00:04:21.760 --> 00:04:24.719
that an attribution-based system is truly better.

00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:26.679
Because in addition to all of

00:04:26.680 --> 00:04:28.159
those other properties we talked about,

00:04:28.160 --> 00:04:33.399
an attribution-based economic system is also efficient.

00:04:33.400 --> 00:04:36.959
And I say this from the perspective of having

00:04:36.960 --> 00:04:39.799
an admiration for the efficiency of capitalism.

00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:43.399
So understand that that is my perspective

00:04:43.400 --> 00:04:45.079
when I say that this system --

00:04:45.080 --> 00:04:47.479
an attribution-based economic system --

00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:51.159
is significantly more efficient than capitalism.

00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:55.839
And it achieves that by virtue of eliminating the waste

00:04:55.840 --> 00:04:58.479
that is inherent in adversarial competition,

00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:01.759
while still preserving market forces!

NOTE Gyroscopes

00:05:01.760 --> 00:05:05.159
In addition to this property

00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:07.159
there is also this other property

00:05:07.160 --> 00:05:10.599
that I think is truly profound,

00:05:10.600 --> 00:05:15.879
and I want to motivate it by this example of a gyroscope.

00:05:15.880 --> 00:05:19.399
Now many of us have had the opportunity to play with

00:05:19.400 --> 00:05:21.239
a gyroscope at some point in our lives.

00:05:21.240 --> 00:05:23.479
If you haven't, I encourage you to go out and get one

00:05:23.480 --> 00:05:25.799
and try it out. It also makes a good gift

00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:26.999
if you're thinking about giving it

00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:28.479
to somebody else this year.

00:05:28.480 --> 00:05:32.559
But if you've played with a gyroscope

00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:35.239
then you've had the experience, perhaps,

00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:37.919
of putting it on your hand and moving it around.

00:05:37.920 --> 00:05:42.799
And no matter what you do, it will always maintain its axis.

00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:45.519
Even if you try to push it

00:05:45.520 --> 00:05:48.239
and try to make it deviate from that axis,

00:05:48.240 --> 00:05:50.399
it will fight you. It will resist you,

00:05:50.400 --> 00:05:53.039
and keep to that axis no matter what.

00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:56.639
And if you've had this experience,

00:05:56.640 --> 00:05:58.039
then believe it or not,

00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:02.079
you have some insight into the nature of economic systems.

00:06:02.080 --> 00:06:07.039
Because if we try to get an economic system to do something

00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:09.279
other than what it wants to do,

00:06:09.280 --> 00:06:11.079
other than what is its nature,

00:06:11.080 --> 00:06:14.839
then it will resist us and it will fight that change.

00:06:14.840 --> 00:06:17.759
Now, I don't know about you,

00:06:17.760 --> 00:06:22.719
but I'd prefer to avoid fighting these gyroscopic forces.

00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:25.039
I'd rather have these forces work with me

00:06:25.040 --> 00:06:29.479
rather than against me. Now in a capitalist system,

00:06:29.480 --> 00:06:32.599
there is another problem, which is that

00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:35.959
not only do you have these gyroscopic forces at work,

00:06:35.960 --> 00:06:39.159
but these forces aren't even all working together.

00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:42.119
They're working against each other, in many cases.

00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:46.439
They represent misaligned interests.

00:06:46.440 --> 00:06:50.079
And indeed, these misaligned interests

00:06:50.080 --> 00:06:53.639
are the very means by which these forces operate at all.

00:06:53.640 --> 00:06:57.559
So in a way, war is not just

00:06:57.560 --> 00:06:59.679
an inevitable consequence in this system

00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:05.279
but is rather the very nature of such a system.

00:07:05.280 --> 00:07:08.359
In an attribution-based system, on the other hand,

00:07:08.360 --> 00:07:11.399
by virtue of the source of value

00:07:11.400 --> 00:07:13.079
being collective attribution,

00:07:13.080 --> 00:07:17.239
we are able to achieve alignment

00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:19.679
of all of these interests at every scale,

00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:22.719
so that at every scale of society,

00:07:22.720 --> 00:07:24.759
from the smallest to the largest scales,

00:07:24.760 --> 00:07:26.479
the interests will be aligned,

00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:28.559
will be consonant and harmonious.

00:07:28.560 --> 00:07:33.799
I think this is a very important, profound quality

00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:38.119
that I think is the fundamental problem of economics -

00:07:38.120 --> 00:07:40.479
the fundamental goal of economics to solve.

00:07:40.480 --> 00:07:43.839
And I believe that an attribution-based economic system

00:07:43.840 --> 00:07:45.199
addresses it and solves it.

NOTE Prototypes

00:07:45.200 --> 00:07:50.279
So without further ado, I want to bring it home

00:07:50.280 --> 00:07:52.479
to the prototype that we have in mind

00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:53.839
for the Emacs community.

00:07:53.840 --> 00:07:56.279
Now we want to start in the Emacs community

00:07:56.280 --> 00:07:58.239
because Emacs has a long tradition

00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:02.159
of exploring better ways of doing things

00:08:02.160 --> 00:08:05.279
and pursuing better alternatives to the status quo.

00:08:05.280 --> 00:08:09.399
Now, to give you an overview of the prototype

00:08:09.400 --> 00:08:12.639
that we've implemented for open source projects.

00:08:12.640 --> 00:08:15.439
The prototype is composed of two broad phases,

00:08:15.440 --> 00:08:18.959
that is, the appraisal phase and the accounting phase.

00:08:18.960 --> 00:08:21.959
Any project is composed of ideas, capital and labor.

00:08:21.960 --> 00:08:26.279
The appraisal phase is involved in assessing the work done

00:08:26.280 --> 00:08:29.119
in terms of how much value was created

00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:31.959
and who created the value and how important that value is.

00:08:31.960 --> 00:08:35.199
The output of this stage is an attributions file.

00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:42.039
And the second phase, of accounting, is about, you know,

00:08:42.040 --> 00:08:43.679
how do you handle payments that come in

00:08:43.680 --> 00:08:45.119
and how do you pay people out.

00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:48.879
Now the first part has more of a social component to it

00:08:48.880 --> 00:08:50.239
and the second part has more of

00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:53.839
a technological component to it that can be automated.

00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:56.239
So in order to implement this prototype,

00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:57.839
we have two things.

00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:01.679
We have founding documents that describe the social aspects,

00:09:01.680 --> 00:09:04.039
and an accounting system that automates

00:09:04.040 --> 00:09:05.919
some of the technological aspects.

NOTE Founding documents

00:09:05.920 --> 00:09:10.799
The founding documents, in the noble tradition

00:09:10.800 --> 00:09:14.559
of the Gayaneshagowa and the US constitution,

00:09:14.560 --> 00:09:17.799
include a constitution which describes

00:09:17.800 --> 00:09:20.679
the guiding principles of ABE,

00:09:20.680 --> 00:09:25.399
and the two main prongs are forward-looking empowerment

00:09:25.400 --> 00:09:26.639
and backward-looking fairness.

00:09:26.640 --> 00:09:28.839
This means that we want to empower

00:09:28.840 --> 00:09:31.599
those individuals and groups

00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:33.599
that are most likely to create value in the future,

00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:36.959
while also recognizing and fairly compensating

00:09:36.960 --> 00:09:38.839
those who've created value in the past,

00:09:38.840 --> 00:09:41.919
to set a good example and incentivize others

00:09:41.920 --> 00:09:45.559
to take chances in creating value.

00:09:45.560 --> 00:09:50.079
And it describes high level principles of

00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:52.119
dialectical inheritance attribution

00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:53.879
as proceeding by means of

00:09:53.880 --> 00:09:55.999
common, collectively agreed-upon standards

00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:56.919
that are applied to all.

00:09:56.920 --> 00:09:59.759
And the key thing here is these improvements feed back

00:09:59.760 --> 00:10:01.919
to the whole and apply to everyone.

00:10:01.920 --> 00:10:03.639
And this is an important quality

00:10:03.640 --> 00:10:05.919
to ensuring fairness and accuracy.

NOTE Declaration of non-ownership

00:10:05.920 --> 00:10:09.839
There's also a declaration of non-ownership.

00:10:09.840 --> 00:10:13.959
We saw already that ownership is an overused institution.

00:10:13.960 --> 00:10:20.079
This just codifies that and allows us to shed

00:10:20.080 --> 00:10:22.439
the baggage of this idea of ownership

00:10:22.440 --> 00:10:24.319
where it doesn't make any sense.

NOTE The financial model

00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:28.159
A third document is the financial model

00:10:28.160 --> 00:10:31.319
which describes how payments are to be treated,

00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:34.159
and a key idea here is that when you pay money

00:10:34.160 --> 00:10:37.359
to an open source project, you know,

00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:40.239
today you don't really have an incentive to do so,

00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:42.439
and it essentially is kind of like a donation.

00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:45.999
But in this model, in an attribution-based model,

00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:48.119
when you pay money to a project,

00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:49.999
you're creating value in a way.

00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:51.599
You're contributing value to the project

00:10:51.600 --> 00:10:53.279
and that itself is attributable.

00:10:53.280 --> 00:10:56.239
And the manner in which we'll treat this

00:10:56.240 --> 00:10:58.839
is in terms of the fair market price that, again,

00:10:58.840 --> 00:11:00.199
we agree upon collectively.

00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:04.959
And any payment that exceeds the fair market price

00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:06.399
is going to be treated as investment.

00:11:06.400 --> 00:11:10.199
And the goal here for this financial model

00:11:10.200 --> 00:11:11.879
is for the system to be self-sustaining,

00:11:11.880 --> 00:11:15.439
so I think there are many open problems here

00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:18.439
and any finance experts or any other experts

00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:21.479
who are interested in contributing here,

00:11:21.480 --> 00:11:23.239
your help is needed, certainly.

NOTE The attribution model

00:11:23.240 --> 00:11:26.759
There's also an attribution model document,

00:11:26.760 --> 00:11:28.999
which describes some of the theoretical ideas

00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:33.479
that would guide dialectical inheritance attribution,

00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:36.919
and there are many interesting ideas here.

00:11:36.920 --> 00:11:40.359
One that I'd like to mention is "backpropagation,"

00:11:40.360 --> 00:11:42.559
which is the idea that

00:11:42.560 --> 00:11:45.199
as we're improving the standards over time

00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:48.279
and they're likely to get more accurate and fair over time,

00:11:48.280 --> 00:11:51.559
we'd like these more accurate and fair standards

00:11:51.560 --> 00:11:56.519
to "backpropagate" and calibrate the value assignments

00:11:56.520 --> 00:11:57.799
that were done in the past.

00:11:57.800 --> 00:12:01.079
And this means that some people might have been

00:12:01.080 --> 00:12:02.839
underpaid in the past

00:12:02.840 --> 00:12:05.199
and we would pay them what they were underpaid,

00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:06.479
or the balance,

00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:08.839
and some people may have been overpaid.

00:12:08.840 --> 00:12:11.839
Now in that case we're not going to go and say,

00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:14.439
"hey we overpaid you, give us the money back."

00:12:14.440 --> 00:12:18.199
Instead the system as a whole is going to bear

00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:19.519
the cost of being wrong,

00:12:19.520 --> 00:12:22.159
and so it's kind of an insurance policy.

00:12:22.160 --> 00:12:25.599
But I think another more interesting quality here is that

00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:29.959
the system in practice wouldn't really

00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:32.999
absorb any negative impact here

00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:34.319
because there is an incentive

00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:37.599
for these people who've been overpaid

00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:38.799
to reinvest that money.

00:12:38.800 --> 00:12:42.839
So I think they would want to invest the money

00:12:42.840 --> 00:12:45.519
in other places that the system has valued

00:12:45.520 --> 00:12:49.119
as being valuable and showing potential.

NOTE The accounting system

00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:54.239
The second component of the implementation

00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:58.599
is the accounting system. All accounting is public.

00:12:58.600 --> 00:13:00.879
All payments into the repo are public

00:13:00.880 --> 00:13:03.399
and all payments out of the project are also public.

00:13:03.400 --> 00:13:05.479
We can do some things for privacy,

00:13:05.480 --> 00:13:08.519
and again, the basis of this system is dialogue.

00:13:08.520 --> 00:13:10.759
It's not a fundamentally technologically system.

00:13:10.760 --> 00:13:12.799
It's a fundamentally dialogue-based system,

00:13:12.800 --> 00:13:14.759
and that, to be honest with you, is everything.

00:13:14.760 --> 00:13:16.999
It's all systems that we have in place.

00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:21.119
But by embracing that, it means that

00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:25.039
we can do whatever we want to do by discussion,

00:13:25.040 --> 00:13:26.039
and if there's something

00:13:26.040 --> 00:13:27.959
that we cannot achieve in a technological way,

00:13:27.960 --> 00:13:30.079
we'll achieve it in a non-technological way.

00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:35.999
But anyway, the point is, all accounting is public,

00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:40.399
and text files in the repository

00:13:40.400 --> 00:13:43.919
form the inputs and outputs of the accounting system

00:13:43.920 --> 00:13:48.879
which is implemented as a GitHub action.

00:13:48.880 --> 00:13:51.239
So typically a source repository will have

00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:54.119
an ABE folder containing these three inputs:

00:13:54.120 --> 00:13:55.599
attributions, payments,

00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:59.919
and payouts. And we'll see how that works.

NOTE drym.org Github account

00:13:59.920 --> 00:14:04.839
This is the drym.org Github organization account.

00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:09.599
This is an example of a repository that uses

00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:12.439
the GitHub action accounting system.

00:14:12.440 --> 00:14:16.239
So there will be a payments folder, a payouts folder,

00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:18.639
as well as an attributions file.

00:14:18.640 --> 00:14:23.959
The payments: essentially each file

00:14:23.960 --> 00:14:26.759
just represents a payment that's made to the repository.

00:14:26.760 --> 00:14:29.079
Payouts is the same except it's payments

00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:32.359
made by the admins of the repository to contributors.

00:14:32.360 --> 00:14:37.159
And the attributions file breaks down

00:14:37.160 --> 00:14:40.679
the attribution of the value in the repository

00:14:40.680 --> 00:14:47.559
by contributor. And then the billing system runs

00:14:47.560 --> 00:14:50.359
on every relevant commit,

00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:53.679
which is typically changes to the ABE folder,

00:14:53.680 --> 00:14:57.239
generates a set of transactions

00:14:57.240 --> 00:15:00.519
that are owed to various people from various payments,

00:15:00.520 --> 00:15:05.079
and then creates an issue with the outstanding balances

00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:07.279
that need to be paid out to contributors,

00:15:07.280 --> 00:15:09.519
and tells you what those balances are.

00:15:09.520 --> 00:15:11.799
So for repository or project maintainers,

00:15:11.800 --> 00:15:14.879
it automates all these accounting details

00:15:14.880 --> 00:15:17.599
and you just have to worry about fulfilling the payments.

NOTE Expanding the boundary

00:15:17.600 --> 00:15:23.519
An interesting property of the prototype

00:15:23.520 --> 00:15:28.399
is that boundary incentives expand the boundary,

00:15:28.400 --> 00:15:33.959
and that is that the incentives in the system

00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:38.439
are so constructed that those on the periphery

00:15:38.440 --> 00:15:40.439
of the attribution-based economic system

00:15:40.440 --> 00:15:42.079
have an incentive to join in.

00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:45.519
And we'll see how that works.

00:15:45.520 --> 00:15:51.359
Well, as I mentioned, we're starting this prototype

00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:52.919
in the Emacs community with the

00:15:52.920 --> 00:15:59.599
Symex repo. Symex is a structural editing package,

00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:05.319
and this prototype will recognize direct contributors

00:16:05.320 --> 00:16:08.159
as well as antecedents and related projects

00:16:08.160 --> 00:16:09.799
through the process of collective attribution.

00:16:09.800 --> 00:16:14.839
We all decide how financial contributions to the Symex repo

00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:18.759
are going to be distributed to the direct contributors

00:16:18.760 --> 00:16:21.039
as well as to antecedents and related projects.

00:16:21.040 --> 00:16:23.679
So the power is yours!

00:16:23.680 --> 00:16:27.159
And that's what I meant when I said

00:16:27.160 --> 00:16:29.519
that the boundary incentives expand the boundary,

00:16:29.520 --> 00:16:32.359
because projects that we agree are owed money

00:16:32.360 --> 00:16:37.959
from the Symex repo now would have an incentive to join,

00:16:37.960 --> 00:16:39.959
because once they join they would get that money.

00:16:39.960 --> 00:16:43.199
And we'll also be implementing this in the

00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:47.199
Racket community. Racket is a Scheme dialect,

00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:50.959
and Emacs has great support for Racket in Racket Mode

00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:52.159
so I encourage you to try it.

00:16:52.160 --> 00:16:55.999
And we'll be prototyping it in the Qi repository.

00:16:56.000 --> 00:16:59.599
Qi is a language written in Racket which is, you know,

00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:02.719
it's for functional programming and things like that.

00:17:02.720 --> 00:17:06.239
And once again, we'll recognize direct contributors

00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:09.239
as well as antecedents and we all decide

00:17:09.240 --> 00:17:11.559
and agree on how those are done.

NOTE Adopting this idea

00:17:11.560 --> 00:17:14.119
So how do you adopt this?

00:17:14.120 --> 00:17:18.559
You can add the github action to a repo

00:17:18.560 --> 00:17:20.239
that you are a maintainer of.

00:17:20.240 --> 00:17:23.319
You can financially support an ABE project.

00:17:23.320 --> 00:17:25.199
This is important to do

00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:26.919
because the system won't get started

00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:28.119
without money as an input.

00:17:28.120 --> 00:17:31.119
And it also has network effects, as we saw -

00:17:31.120 --> 00:17:33.479
the more money you contribute,

00:17:33.480 --> 00:17:35.239
the more incentive there is

00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:36.799
for other people to join the system.

00:17:36.800 --> 00:17:39.879
And contributions are also attributable,

00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:41.079
as we said earlier.

00:17:41.080 --> 00:17:43.719
Some of them can be treated as investments.

00:17:43.720 --> 00:17:47.999
Any help you can provide with funding

00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:50.519
would be attributable and very helpful, of course.

00:17:50.520 --> 00:17:54.079
And yeah, if you can help us achieve

00:17:54.080 --> 00:17:55.839
the goal of self-sufficiency

00:17:55.840 --> 00:17:59.039
without relying on capitalist entry points,

00:17:59.040 --> 00:18:01.759
that would be very helpful as well.

00:18:01.760 --> 00:18:06.319
I'd like to acknowledge the help of many individuals

00:18:06.320 --> 00:18:09.399
for this presentation

00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:12.759
as well as many of the supporting things

00:18:12.760 --> 00:18:14.919
that have gone on behind the scenes for years.

00:18:14.920 --> 00:18:19.679
And in particular for now I want to mention

00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:25.559
Jair and Ariana who wrote the accounting system

00:18:25.560 --> 00:18:28.319
that we saw earlier, and Salim who encouraged me

00:18:28.320 --> 00:18:32.799
to take this social approach to the prototype.

00:18:32.800 --> 00:18:36.559
And so many more people who have believed and invested

00:18:36.560 --> 00:18:39.159
in the cause of "attribution, not ownership!"

NOTE Closing thoughts

00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:42.759
I want to leave you with this closing thought.

00:18:42.760 --> 00:18:46.159
The electromagnetic attraction between two objects

00:18:46.160 --> 00:18:49.919
is 10^42 stronger (!) than the gravitational attraction

00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:51.079
between these same objects.

00:18:51.080 --> 00:18:53.879
And yet, a stone falls to the Earth

00:18:53.880 --> 00:18:56.679
under the influence of gravity, not magnetism.

00:18:56.680 --> 00:19:00.879
The reason is that the e/m forces are polarized,

00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:04.079
much like our world, and cancel each other out.

NOTE Taking care of one another

00:19:04.080 --> 00:19:07.719
Now in this world, we are told

00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:09.559
that we should look out for ourselves

00:19:09.560 --> 00:19:11.879
because no one is going to look out for us.

00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:14.039
That we should take care of our own

00:19:14.040 --> 00:19:17.359
because we can't rely on others to care.

00:19:17.360 --> 00:19:22.479
An attribution-based economy is nothing like that.

00:19:22.480 --> 00:19:23.959
We care about each other,

00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:25.439
we take care of each other,

00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:29.879
because taking care of one another is valuable,

00:19:29.880 --> 00:19:32.559
and an attribution-based economic system

00:19:32.560 --> 00:19:39.079
is capable of recognizing that value, in financial terms.

00:19:39.080 --> 00:19:43.879
And as a result, we are safe in the embrace of the world.

00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:56.240
So, um, yeah. Let's go!