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!