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diff --git a/2022/captions/emacsconf-2022-maint--maintaining-the-maintainers-attribution-as-an-economic-model-for-open-source--sid-kasivajhula--main.vtt b/2022/captions/emacsconf-2022-maint--maintaining-the-maintainers-attribution-as-an-economic-model-for-open-source--sid-kasivajhula--main.vtt new file mode 100644 index 00000000..3a907943 --- /dev/null +++ b/2022/captions/emacsconf-2022-maint--maintaining-the-maintainers-attribution-as-an-economic-model-for-open-source--sid-kasivajhula--main.vtt @@ -0,0 +1,1192 @@ +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! |