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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!