The blockchain: it is the smart, distributed ledger that allows any participant to come to consensus on the state of information without requiring an intermediary. It’s been called “consensus computers” & “trust machines”. They come in many forms (Bitcoin, Ethereum & private ones). Whatever platform succeeds (one or many) will leave society with a vast, distributed, public computer. It’s memory will be our shared, unchangeable historical record, and its power will allow us to forge new relationships with each other and with our technology. It is giving rise to the computing commons.

This book extends onwards from the previous book I was writing about the blockchain (which can be found in the “old” folder, still available to read). The narrative has changed into a much grander vision. The blockchain is the tool. For each overarching theme, a long-form Medium post will be published. Each chapter will also be published as a $2 e-book. Once each theme is done, the whole book will be edited & revised into a full e-book.

During the writing proces, leanpub will be used. The whole WIP book is currently being sold at the price of $9.99.

The themes are subject to change, but will currently cover the following:

The rise of the blockchain & the computing commons
(introduction)

Free, Instant & Transparent Finance
(what does a world look like where all finance is free & instant? And you have capability of continuous audit & transparency?)

Infinite Scarcity
(what does a world look like where we can assign automatic value to all networks? Share & unlock all capital? Abundance through measuring?)

The Information Markets
(A chapter solely on prediction markets. What happens if we allow censorship-resistant betting on everything? Could we model externalities? Would we recreate a map of reality in the digital?)

The Auconomy
(Autonomous Trade, Autonomous Organisations & Autonomous Agents. The Decentralized Sensor AI. Deodands.)

Lex Cryptographia
(What happens if you have cryptography enforcing contracts? Smart property? Appeal to authority disappears only for very rare scenarios?)

Transcension
(Could we model state logic of an alternate reality on a blockchain? Will it provide cascading empathy if other realities are better than the current one? VR & Blockchains?)

The Empathy Machines
(Conclusion)

I'm writing this in the open, following the lean publishing manifesto. Any contributions are welcome. I won't promise that they will be included, but I will consider all changes! All contributors will (at least) get an honourable mention.

This book is written under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International. You are free to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon it (as long as you credit). You are not allowed to do this for commercial purposes.

"The adjacent possible is a kind of shadow future, hovering on the edges of the present state of things, a map of all the ways in which the present can reinvent itself." - Steven Johnson.

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