Autonomous AI agents present transformative opportunities and significant governance challenges. Existing frameworks, such as the EU AI Act and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, fall short of addressing the complexities of these agents, which are capable of independent decision-making, learning, and adaptation. To bridge these gaps, we propose the ETHOS (Ethical Technology and Holistic Oversight System) framework—a decentralized governance (DeGov) model leveraging Web3 technologies, including blockchain, smart contracts, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). ETHOS establishes a global registry for AI (...) agents, enabling dynamic risk classification, proportional oversight, and automated compliance monitoring through tools like soulbound tokens and zero-knowledge proofs. Furthermore, the framework incorporates decentralized justice systems for transparent dispute resolution and introduces AI-specific legal entities to manage limited liability, supported by mandatory insurance to ensure financial accountability and incentivize ethical design. By integrating philosophical principles of rationality, ethical grounding, and goal alignment, ETHOS aims to create a robust research agenda for promoting trust, transparency, and participatory governance. This innovative framework offers a scalable and inclusive strategy for regulating AI agents, balancing innovation with ethical responsibility to meet the demands of an AI-driven future. (shrink)

Several states have enacted specialized limited liability company legislation in an attempt to attract decentralized autonomous organizations. In this way, the regulatory competition debate surrounding states such as Wyoming, Tennessee, and Vermont, attempting to dethrone Delaware, has found a new battleground. According to Professor Lynn LoPucki, this will entail a regulatory race to the bottom, that is, a race to “laxity.” I disagree. In fact, deregulation has already been achieved in the traditional limited liability company form. The decentralized autonomous organization (...) limited liability company is no laxer or more attractive to investors, who will likely prefer the traditional limited liability company or even other entity forms, given the diversity of investors’ needs and aims. Moreover, some decentralized autonomous organization organizers may wish not to incorporate at all, hoping to avoid the law altogether. While increasingly risky, this strategy rests on the belief in the alegality liability shield, further diminishing the impact of the lex specialis approach. After analyzing the statutory developments and the scholarly and industrial commentary, I conclude that in decentralized autonomous organizations, as elsewhere, the regulatory race to the bottom is a fad. (shrink)

The purpose of the article is to analyze the prerequisites, advantages, problems and prospects for the development of the processes of financial decentralization in Ukraine. Initially, the article reveals the features of the federal and unitary arrangements of states. As research has shown, the principles of fiscal federalism have been increasingly used by unitary states. The legislative and normative legal acts regulating the implementation of the decentralization policy in Ukraine are justified and given. Characteristics of the formation of (...) new structures, such as: united territorial societies and their sources of financing are characterized. Changes in incomes in local budgets as a result of decentralization are analyzed, and their significant growth is observed. The mechanism of horizontal leveling of the tax ability of territories has been developed, which helps to remove imbalances and unevenness, most of the budgets of Ukraine are recipients of budgetary funds, since they receive a basic subsidy. The influence of the development of information technologies on entrepreneurial activity in small towns and villages is determined. Information technology is a tool of points of growth of territories. Decentralization will not gradually increase due to urbanization processes, but will be accompanied by new development mechanisms, where the labor force and the means of production will unite and help create a qualitatively new environment. (shrink)

This paper argues that the plethora of experiments with decentralized social technologies (DSTs)—clusters of which are sometimes called “the Web 3.0 ecosystem” or “the Fediverse”—have brought us to a constitutional moment. These technologies enable radical innovations in social, economic, and political institutions and practices, with the potential to support transformative approaches to political economy. They demand governance innovation. The paper develops a framework of prudent vigilance for making ethical choices in this space that help to both grasp positive opportunities for (...) transformation and avoid the potentially problematic consequences. Most of our specific examples and concerns come from the blockchain/Web3 universe, as this has received the greatest investment, attention, and adoption to date. However, we aim to offer a framework for governance decision-making in conditions of uncertainty that applies more broadly to other DSTs. Specifically, under the framework of prudent vigilance, we propose a pragmatic, democratic, and pluralist approach to navigating bold experimentation with social practices and political economy enabled by these technologies. Our overarching goal is to provide a framework open to transformative improvement and constrained by guardrails and guiding values supportive of democracy, freedom, and pluralism. We take a relatively strong position, rather than simply laying out ethical issues and potential approaches. We seek to be provocative in order to spur further work and hope this paper will serve as a first bridge between academic philosophy and the DST community, which have hardly interacted to date. (shrink)

News about personal data breaches or data abusive practices, such as Cambridge Analytica, has questioned the trustworthiness of certain actors in the control of personal data. Innovations in the field of personal information management systems to address this issue have regained traction in recent years, also coinciding with the emergence of new decentralized technologies. However, only with ethically and legally responsible developments will the mistakes of the past be avoided. This contribution explores how current data management schemes are insufficient to (...) adequately safeguard data subjects, and in particular, it focuses on making these data flows transparent to provide an adequate level of accountability. To showcase this, and with the goal of enhancing transparency to foster trust, this paper investigates solutions for standardizing machine-readable policies to express personal data processing activities and their application to decentralized personal data stores as an example of ethical, legal, and technical responsible innovation in this field. (shrink)

Current approaches to AI governance often fall short in anticipating a future where AI agents manage critical tasks, such as financial operations, administrative functions, and beyond. As AI agents may eventually delegate tasks among themselves to optimize efficiency, understanding the foundational principles of human value exchange could offer insights into how AI-driven economies might operate. Just as trust and value exchange are central to human interactions in open marketplaces, they may also be critical for enabling secure and efficient interactions among (...) AI agents. While cryptocurrencies could serve as the foundation for monetizing value exchange in a collaboration and delegation dynamic among AI agents, a critical question remains: how can these agents reliably determine whom to trust, and how can humans ensure meaningful oversight and control as an economy of AI agents scales and evolves? This paper is a call for a collective exploration of cryptoeconomic incentives, which can help design decentralized governance systems that allow AI agents to autonomously interact and exchange value while ensuring human oversight via progressive decentralization. Toward this end, I propose a research agenda to address the question of agent-to-agent trust using AgentBound Tokens (ABTs)—non-transferable, non-fungible tokens uniquely tied to individual AI agents, akin to Soulbound tokens for humans in Web3. By staking ABTs as collateral for autonomous actions within an agent-to-agent network via a proof-of-stake mechanism, agents may be incentivized towards ethical behavior, and penalties for misconduct are automatically enforced. (shrink)

: Blockchain technology has gained significant attention for its ability to provide secure, transparent, and decentralized applications, particularly in areas such as finance, supply chain management, and healthcare. However, the adoption and implementation of blockchain solutions can be complex, especially for organizations that lack the technical expertise and resources required to manage blockchain infrastructure. Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) offers a solution by providing cloud-based blockchain platforms that allow businesses to build, host, and manage blockchain applications without the need for significant investment in (...) hardware or specialized knowledge. This paper explores the concept of BaaS in the cloud, its benefits for enabling secure and transparent decentralized applications, and the key features of blockchain platforms provided by major cloud service providers (CSPs). Additionally, the paper highlights real-world use cases and challenges in implementing BaaS, and discusses the future prospects of this technology in driving innovation across industries. (shrink)

This chapter explores the personal and professional obstacles faced by Humanities and Social Science scholars contemplating pre-publication of their scholarly work in an on-line network. Borrowing a theoretical framework from the radical educational theorist Ivan Illich, it also develops the idea that pre-publication networks offer higher education a bottom-up, decentralized alternative to business-modeled e-learning. If learners would only embrace this more anarchical medium, appreciating writing for pre-publication as a process of open-ended discovery rather than product delivery, then the prospect of (...) deinstitutionalizing e-learning could become an exciting new reality. The chapter’s methodology is a combination of normative-theoretical analysis and small sample (n=2) case study based on the author’s personal and professional experiences. While the generalizability (or external validity) of the conclusions is limited, the author hopes to motivate further inquiry into the connection between on-line pre-publication and e-learning. (shrink)

This intersection of Web3 technology and the metaverse constitutes a major leap into decentralized digital environments. Web3, which is based on blockchain technology, offers a user-centric architecture that allows users to own and control their digital assets, identities, and interactions. Blockchain ensures transparent, immutable records in the metaverse; smart contracts enable secure, trustless transactions to happen automatically. Non-fungible therapy tokens (NFTs) advance ownership online by showing original virtual items. Metaverse is a notion that envisions a communal, virtual shared environment that (...) exists beyond the physical world. This space is shared by all individuals. It is a digital world in which users can interact with computer-generated surroundings, connect with other users, and participate in a variety of activities by utilizing AR, VR, and other immersive technologies. This article investigates how the integration of Web3 technology supports distributed governance, virtual commerce, and interoperable experiences, thereby ushering a new era of immersive, fair digital places. We also look at potential adoption chances as well as challenges. (shrink)

The article proposes a scientific and methodological approach to strategising the development of a manufacturing enterprise in a decentralised environment based on the principle of feedback. This approach involves taking into account the direct and feedback indicators of the enterprise, aimed at increasing its competitiveness and achieving sustainable development goals. The authors propose to assess the level of development of the production enterprise in decentralisation, taking into account the multiplier effect of interaction with the united territorial community on the basis (...) of the target approach (indicators are distributed according to the goals of the enterprise), taking into account the main directions of sustainable development component, each of which has its own system of evaluation indicators. The proposed methodological approach to assessing the level of development of a production enterprise in decentralisation allowed to assess the development of the enterprise in accordance with its qualitative and quantitative characteristics in each of the areas of sustainable development (social, economic, environmental, budget), taking into account their interaction levels. A scientific and methodological approach to modelling the management system of the dynamic state of the production enterprise in terms of decentralisation, which provides for the formation of a model of development of the production enterprise in cooperation with OTG on indicators of its development. The model of management of development of the industrial enterprise in the conditions of decentralisation for LLC TIS, which is located in the territory of the Vizyr UTC of the Odessa region is constructed. (shrink)

There are various aspects to Internet of Things security, such as guaranteeing the safety of both the devices and the Internet of Things networks to which they connect. Many other types of equipment, including industrial robots, smart grids, construction automation systems, entertainment gadgets, and many more, are included in this, despite the fact that they were not designed with network security in mind. When it comes to securing systems, networks, and data, IoT device security must be able to resist a (...) wide range of IoT security assaults. One of the most important issues in the field of data security is the creation of intrusion detection systems (IDSs) for the Internet of Things. Client devices (edge devices) in Federated Learning utilize local data to train the machine learning model, and then send the updated model parameters to a cloud server so that they may be aggregated (rather than raw data).This paper proposes a machine learning system that employs federated learning to detect intrusions in the IoT. The FedAVG algorithm is employed to aggregate models. Models are trained locally by nodes. The models are trained and validated using machine learning methods, including Random Forest, ID3, and Support Vector Machine. The NSL KDD data set is employed to undertake experiments. (shrink)

In the past decade, blockchain technology has garnered significant attention from a diverse array of industries. Despite the fact that blockchain technology was initially developed for the Bitcoin P2P cryptocurrency network, there has been a recent surge in interest in its potential integration with other service sectors. In the domain of machine-to-machine commerce, distributed ledger technologies, as seen in blockchain systems, have recently been hailed as potential platforms. A decentralised network architecture, security, immutability, and transparency are among the primary attributes (...) of blockchains. The unalterable nature of blockchain ledgers enables members to rely on one another, thereby increasing performance and participation. Scalability and security are substantial challenges for blockchain technology. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the emergence of blockchain technology and various methods for addressing the scalability issues associated with distributed ledgers. (shrink)

Mark Pennington argues political systems should be decentralized in order to facilitate experimental learning about distributive justice. Pointing out the problems with Pennington's Hayekian formulation, I reframe his argument as an extension of the Millian idea of 'experiments in living.' However, the experimental case for decentralization is limited in several ways. Even if decentralization improves our knowledge about justice, it impedes the actual implementation of all conceptions of justice other than libertarianism. I conclude by arguing for the compatibility (...) of egalitarian redistribution with the epistemic virtues of markets pointed out by Hayek. (shrink)

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are a new, rapidly-growing class of organizations governed by smart contracts. Here we describe how researchers can contribute to the emerging science of DAOs and other digitally-constituted organizations. From granular privacy primitives to mechanism designs to model laws, we identify high-impact problems in the DAO ecosystem where existing gaps might be tackled through a new data set or by applying tools and ideas from existing research fields such as political science, computer science, economics, law, and organizational (...) science. Our recommendations encompass exciting research questions as well as promising business opportunities. We call on the wider research community to join the global effort to invent the next generation of organizations. (shrink)

Bitcoin, as a decentralized digital currency, has undergone extreme price fluctuations over the years. Predicting its future price presents a significant challenge due to its volatile nature and susceptibility to various external factors, including market sentiment, regulations, and technological developments. This research aims to build an advanced forecasting model to predict Bitcoin’s price movements accurately. We leverage historical price data and apply cutting-edge machine learning techniques, including Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks and Gradient Boosting Machines (GBM). By comparing these methods (...) with existing models, we evaluate their performance in predicting Bitcoin’s future prices, which is vital for traders, investors, and financial institutions in making informed decisions. (shrink)

E-Government refers to the administration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to the procedures and functions of the government with the objective of enhancing the transparency, efficiency and participation of the citizens. E-Government is tough systems that require distribution, protection of privacy and security and collapse of these could result in social and economic costs on a large scale. Many of the available e-government systems like electronic identity system of management (eIDs), websites are established at duplicated databases and servers. An (...) established validation and management system could face a single failure point and the system is prone to Distributed Denial of Service Attacks (DDoS), denial of service attacks (DoS), malware and other cyber attacks. The execution of a privacy preserving and a secure decentralized system is enabled by the block chain technology. Here any third-party organizations do not have any control over the transactions of the Government. With the help of block chain technology, new and existing data are encapsulated within ledger or blocks, which are evenly distributed through the network in an enduring and sustainable way. The privacy and security of information are improved with the help of block chain technology, where distribution and encryption of data are performed through the total network. This analytical paper maps out the analysis of the security in the e-government system, utilizing the block chain technology that provides privacy and security of information and thereby enhancing the trust among the public sector. Qualitative and theoretical analysis is made for the proposed topic and implications of privacy and security of the proposed system is made. (shrink)

The present paper is an attempt at examining the value configuration and the socio-demographical profiles of the local political elites in four countries of East-Central Europe: Romania, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Poland. The treatment is a comparative one, predominantly descriptive and exploratory, and employs, as a research method, the case-study, being a quite circumscribed endeavor. The cases focus on the members of the Municipal/Local Council in four towns similar in terms of demography and developmental strategies (i.e. small-to-medium sized communities (...) of around 35,000 inhabitants, with economies largely based on food industry and commercial activities): Tecuci (Galați county, Romania), Česká Lípa (Liberec region, Czech Republic), Targovishte (Targovishte province, Bulgaria), and Oleśnica (Lower Silesia province, Poland). Hypothesizing that the local elites of the former Sovietized Erurope tend to differ in outlook, priorities, and value attainment, as compared to their Western counterparts, the paper considers the former’s attitudes and perspectives in regard to seven values: a series of values customarily connected with the concept of ‘democracy’ (i.e. citizen participation, political conflict, gradual change, economic equality), state intervention in economy, decentralization and increased local autonomy, cultural-geographical self-identification. The study uses, as well, five models of value attainment in what concerns the ‘ideal portrait’ of the local councilor (Putnam 1976): ethical, pragmatic, technocratic, political, and gender. According to the results of a study applying a standard written questionnaire among the local councilors of the three communities in the period December 2010-February 2013, the paper distinguishes among three corresponding types of local elites: (1) ‘predominantly elitistic,’ (2) ‘democratic elitist,’ and (3) ‘predominantly democratic,’ following two types of explanation accounting for the differences among the four cases: the legacy of the defunct regime and the degree of administrative decentralization. (shrink)

Cloud computing has become an integral part of modern IT infrastructure, enabling organizations to store, process, and manage data with unprecedented flexibility and scalability. However, as more critical and sensitive data moves to the cloud, the need for robust security mechanisms becomes increasingly vital. This paper introduces "CloudShield," a forward-thinking security framework designed to address the emerging challenges of cloud security. We explore the core components of this model, including AI-powered threat detection, enhanced encryption protocols, decentralized access management, and compliance (...) automation. Additionally, we discuss how CloudShield integrates with existing cloud infrastructure and supports dynamic threat environments. Finally, the paper explores the role of AI, blockchain, and quantum computing in shaping the future of cloud security. The aim is to provide a comprehensive overview of how the CloudShield framework can serve as a blueprint for securing the next generation of cloud environments. (shrink)

The heightened digitization of the healthcare industry has led to an exponential increase in sensitive patient data, which requires robust security models to prevent breaches, unauthorized access, and cyber attacks. Traditional security protocols are inadequate, and this has made it imperative to explore Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain as novel solutions. AI enhances healthcare cybersecurity by facilitating real-time anomaly detection, predictive analysis, and automated threat response, while blockchain offers decentralization, immutability, and secure data sharing. However, blockchain technology faces major (...) challenges for scalability and performance, as represented by lengthy transaction processing durations and high storage demands, elements that could deter its widespread adoption across the healthcare industry. To help counter these challenges, researchers are exploring Layer 2 scaling solutions, hybrid blockchain architectures, and off-chain storage strategies. In addition, cleanroom technology provides a controlled and secure environment for handling sensitive healthcare data, protecting privacy while also supporting AI-driven analytics and research collaboration. This article critically examines the intersection of blockchain and AI for healthcare security, in terms of challenges, use cases, and direction. Leveraging these technologies, health organizations can set up future-proof models of security that address data integrity, regulatory requirements, and resistance to future threats more effectively. (shrink)

Centripetalism is often perceived as a type of a political system for a multi-segmental, especially multi-ethnic, country in order to create among the members of the political elite of moderate, accomodative, and integrative political behavior cross-cutting segmental divisions which, reaching beyond group interests, depoliticize the segmental separateness and, in this manner, reduce their significance. One of the central institutions of centripetalism is decentralization leading to a division of large segments into smaller parts that inhabit different, ideally multi-segmental regions, thus (...) inclining regional political elites of different segments to collaborate. Although both Nigeria and Indonesia have similar centripetal territorial structures, only Nigeria is a federation. This paper focuses on Nigerian centripetal federalism and its link to the so-called federal character principle that is mostly consociational in substance. Krzysztof Trzcinski, Centripetal Federalism, in: 50 Shades of Federalism, ed. by Soeren Keil & Paul Anderson, Canterbury: Canterbury Christ Church University & Montréal: CRÉQC, 2020. (shrink)

In recent years, the combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Blockchain technology has garnered significant attention, especially in the healthcare domain. With the increasing reliance on biomedical signal processing for disease diagnosis and treatment, ensuring the security, privacy, and integrity of data has become paramount. Biomedical signals, including electrocardiograms (ECG), electroencephalograms (EEG), and other physiological data, often contain sensitive information. AI models have shown great promise in processing and interpreting these signals, enabling accurate disease detection and personalized healthcare. However, the (...) potential for data tampering, unauthorized access, and privacy concerns pose significant challenges. Blockchain, with its decentralized, tamper-resistant, and secure framework, offers a solution to these challenges. By integrating Blockchain with AI for biomedical signal processing, data can be securely stored, verified, and accessed, ensuring that healthcare providers can rely on the integrity and accuracy of the signals used in AI-based diagnostics. This paper explores the role of Blockchain-enhanced AI solutions for secure biomedical signal processing and data integration, addressing both the technical and ethical challenges in this space. We propose a system that leverages Blockchain to manage the secure transfer and storage of biomedical signals while utilizing AI to analyze and interpret these signals in real time. Blockchain provides an immutable ledger for auditing and validating data provenance, ensuring that the data remains secure throughout the healthcare pipeline. The integration of these two technologies not only enhances the security of biomedical data but also enables more trustworthy AI-driven diagnostics and decision-making in healthcare. (shrink)

Philosophical work exploring the relation between cognition and the Internet is now an active area of research. Some adopt an externalist framework, arguing that the Internet should be seen as environmental scaffolding that drives and shapes cognition. However, despite growing interest in this topic, little attention has been paid to how the Internet influences our affective life — our moods, emotions, and our ability to regulate these and other feeling states. We argue that the Internet scaffolds not only cognition but (...) also affect. Using various case studies, we consider some ways that we are increasingly dependent on our Internet-enabled “techno-social niches” to regulate the contours of our own affective life and participate in the affective lives of others. We argue further that, unlike many of the other environmental resources we use to regulate affect, the Internet has distinct properties that introduce new dimensions of complexity to these regulative processes. First, it is radically social in a way many of these other resources are not. Second, it is a radically distributed and decentralized resource; no one individual or agent is responsible for the Internet’s content or its affective impact on users. Accordingly, while the Internet can profoundly augment and enrich our affective life and deepen our connection with others, there is also a distinctive kind of affective precarity built into our online endeavors as well. (shrink)

Economies are complicated systems encompassing micro behaviors, interaction patterns, and global regularities. Whether partial or general in scope, studies of economic systems must consider how to handle difficult real-world aspects such as asymmetric information, imperfect competition, strategic interaction, collective learning, and the possibility of multiple equilibria. Recent advances in analytical and computational tools are permitting new approaches to the quantitative study of these aspects. One such approach is Agent-based Computational Economics (ACE), the computational study of economic processes modeled as dynamic (...) systems of interacting agents. This chapter explores the potential advantages and disadvantages of ACE for the study of economic systems. General points are concretely illustrated using an ACE model of a two-sector decentralized market economy. Six issues are highlighted: Constructive understanding of production, pricing, and trade processes; the essential primacy of survival; strategic rivalry and market power; behavioral uncertainty and learning; the role of conventions and organizations; and the complex interactions among structural attributes, institutional arrangements, and behavioral dispositions. (shrink)

Radical democratic thinking is becoming intrigued by the material situatedness of its political agents and by the role of nonhuman participants in political interaction. At stake here is the displacement of narrow anthropocentrism that currently guides democratic theory and practice, and its repositioning into what we call ‘the nonhuman condition’. This Critical Exchange explores the nonhuman condition. It asks: What are the implications of decentering the human subject via a new materialist reading of radical democracy? Does this reading dilute political (...) agency? Or should this be seen, on the contrary, as an invitation for new voices and demands to enter into democratic assemblages? How might engagement with the more-than-human disrupt or extend theories of radical democracy? Hans Asenbaum and Amanda Machin discuss the human democratic subject both through radical democratic and new materialist lenses. They suggest that a new materialist decentred subject does not lose agency but further gains political responsibility in radical democracy. Jean-Paul Gagnon highlights the possibility of becoming through loss. In losing our anthropocentric arrogance—our understanding of being other and better than animal—we become more connected and discover our place in human-nonhuman assemblages. Melissa Orlie agrees that something can be gained through renouncing dominant human fantasies and presents a ‘radical democratic naturalism’. By renouncing land violence and acknowledging nature’s subjectivity, we can further nonexploitative radical democratic politics. This is where the notion of ‘tidalectic’ processes introduced by James L. Smith is helpful. Focusing on water and the Indigenous knowledges around rivers, he considers how democracy and community can be reimagined as plural, cyclical and attentive to the nonhuman with which the human is inevitably entangled. Diana Leong offers a different approach. Considering the nonhuman from the perspective of Black Studies demands an awareness to how blackness has long been constituted as non- or partially human. (shrink)

Since at least 2016, many have worried that social media enables authoritarians to meddle in democratic politics. The concern is that trolls and bots amplify deceptive content. In this chapter I argue that these tactics have a more insidious anti-democratic purpose. Lies implanted in democratic discourse by authoritarians are often intended to be caught. Their primary goal is not to successfully deceive, but rather to undermine the democratic value of testimony. In well-functioning democracies, our mutual reliance on testimony also generates (...) a distinctively democratic value: decentralized testimonial networks evade control by the state or powerful actors. The deliberate exposure of deception in democratic testimonial networks undermines this value by implicating citizens in their own epistemic corruption, weakening the resilience of democratic society against authoritarian pressure. In this chapter I illustrate that danger through a close reading of recent Russian social media interference operations, showing both their epistemic underpinnings and their ongoing political threat. (shrink)

The convergence of humans and artificial intelligence (AI) systems introduces new dynamics into the cultural and intellectual landscape. Complementing emerging cultural evolution concepts such as machine culture, AI agents represent a significant techno-sociological development, particularly within the anthropological study of Web3 as a community focused on decentralization through blockchain. Despite their growing presence, the cultural significance of AI agents remains largely unexplored in academic literature. Toward this end, we conceived hybrid netnography, a novel interdisciplinary approach that examines the cultural (...) and intellectual dynamics within digital ecosystems by analyzing the interactions and contributions of both human and AI agents as co-participants in shaping narratives, ideas, and cultural artifacts. We argue that, within the Web3 community on the social media platform X, these agents challenge traditional notions of participation and influence in public discourse, creating a “hybrid marketplace of ideas”—a conceptual space where human- and AI-generated ideas coexist and compete for attention. We examine the current state of AI agents in idea generation, propagation, and engagement, positioning their role as cultural agents through the lens of memetics and encouraging further inquiry into their cultural and societal impact. Additionally, we address the implications of this paradigm for privacy, intellectual property, and governance, highlighting the societal and legal challenges of integrating AI agents into the hybrid marketplace of ideas. (shrink)

Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing organizational dynamics by reshaping both structures and processes. This paper explores how AI-driven innovations are transforming organizational frameworks, from hierarchical adjustments to decentralized decision-making models. It examines the impact of AI on various processes, including workflow automation, data analysis, and enhanced decision support systems. Through case studies and empirical research, the paper highlights the benefits of AI in improving efficiency, driving innovation, and fostering agility within organizations. Additionally, it addresses the challenges associated with AI (...) integration, such as resistance to change, ethical concerns, and data security issues. The paper concludes by offering insights into future trends and implications for organizations navigating the evolving landscape of AI-driven change. (shrink)

One objection to conventional AI ethics is that it slows innovation. This presentation responds by reconfiguring ethics as an innovation accelerator. The critical elements develop from a contrast between Stability AI’s Diffusion and OpenAI’s Dall-E. By analyzing the divergent values underlying their opposed strategies for development and deployment, five conceptions are identified as common to acceleration ethics. Uncertainty is understood as positive and encouraging, rather than discouraging. Innovation is conceived as intrinsically valuable, instead of worthwhile only as mediated by social (...) effects. AI problems are solved by more AI, not less. Permissions and restrictions governing AI emerge from a decentralized process, instead of a unified authority. The work of ethics is embedded in AI development and application, instead of functioning from outside. Together, these attitudes and practices remake ethics as provoking rather than restraining artificial intelligence. (shrink)

Contemporary republicans have adopted a less-than-charitable attitude toward private beneficence, especially when it is directed to the poor, worrying that rich patrons may be in a position to exercise arbitrary power over their impoverished clients. These concerns have led them to support impartial public provision by way of state welfare programs, including an unconditional basic income (UBI). In contrast to this administrative model of public welfare, I will propose a competitive model in which the state regulates and subsidizes a decentralized (...) and nonstatist provision of support for the poor. This model will fix the historically objectionable features of private provision by having the state prevent collusion among private charities, deliver information to recipients about alternative sources of assistance, and give substantial grants to charities as well as tax incentives and vouchers to donors. I will contend that such an approach would do a better job of minimizing domination of the poor than traditional welfare states and may prove more politically feasible than a UBI, at least in the near term in certain national contexts. (shrink)

The article examines the role of ethnic favoritism in maldistribution of national resources in Kenya and discusses two broad proposals for attacking such corruption. Evidence drawn from research in Kenya disproves the view of Chabal and Daloz, who argue that Africans prefer to distribute goods according to ethnic ties, and shows that frustration with the lack of alternatives to such a system, rather than enthusiasm for it, drives cooperation with corrupt maldistribution. One solution to the problem is to decentralize government (...) so that resources are retained locally. A second solution is to attack the culture of appropriation and push for a fair evaluation of needs and the equitable distribution of national resources to where they are needed most. Drawing on the ideas of Hannah Arendt, the article proposes a modified federalism where government is small enough to enlist the help and support of locals but powerful enough to provide funds to impoverished sectors of the country. (shrink)

Alternative currencies are means of payment that circulate alongside—as an alternative or complement to—official currencies. While these currencies have existed for a long time, both society and academia have shown a renewed interest in their potential to decentralize the governance of monetary affairs and to bring people and organizations together in more ethical or sustainable ways. This article is a review of the ethical and philosophical implications of these alternative monetary projects. We first discuss various classifications of these currencies before (...) analyzing the ethical challenges linked to the way they tackle social and environmental issues. We also examine the incentive-based and coercive mechanisms used by these currencies from an ethical perspective and debate the promises and perils of monetary decentralization and democracy. We conclude by identifying an agenda for future research. (shrink)

The blockchain social movement led to the emergence of Web3, a new, token-orchestrated iteration of the World Wide Web comprised of decentralized applications. With Web3, users can adopt a unique digital identity, known as a self-sovereign identity, that allows them to have access to their data and be central administrators of their transportable and interoperable identity. An inherent feature of digital identity in Web3 is that, in some cases, it can live forever. Web3 users, therefore, may accumulate digital assets, such (...) as non-fungible tokens, in an attempt to leave a digital legacy behind. Terror-management theory, a social and evolutionary psychology theory, was theoretically applied to the act of digital asset accumulation as a potential mechanism of escaping death-related fears. In contrast, the current uses of non-fungible tokens (ie, proof-of-ownership) and soulbound tokens (ie, proof-of-character) were evaluated from a Logotherapy perspective to inform how Web3 could evolve toward a Decentralized Society. (shrink)

Abstract: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming organizational dynamics by reshaping both structures and processes. This paper examines how AI-driven innovations are redefining organizational frameworks, ranging from shifts in hierarchical models to the adoption of decentralized decision-making. It explores AI's impact on key processes, including workflow automation, data analysis, and decision support systems. Through case studies and empirical research, the paper illustrates the advantages of AI in enhancing efficiency, driving innovation, and fostering agility within organizations. Additionally, it addresses the challenges posed (...) by AI integration, such as resistance to change, ethical concerns, and data security issues. The paper concludes with insights into future trends and implications for organizations navigating the evolving landscape of AI-driven change. (shrink)

Often, there are conceptual differences between politicians, officials, academics and professionals on key concepts related to forms of administrative organization of the State and in relation to the categorization of the various subjects who directs their actions. Settle these differences contribute to the implementation of the modernization of the State. It is also necessary to distinguish conceptually between different degrees of protection can be invoked by natural and legal persons in the administration. To help settle these conceptual differences, we will (...) propose some key definitions related to governance, from a literature review and analysis of the actions of the state. (shrink)

Contemporary critics of the administrative state are right to highlight the dangers of vesting too much power in a centralized bureaucracy removed from popular oversight and accountability. Too often neglected in this literature, however, are the dangers of vesting too little power in a centralized state, which enables dominant groups to further expand their social and economic advantages through decentralized means. This article seeks to synthesize these concerns, understanding them as reflecting the same underlying danger of state capture. It then (...) articulates a set of heuristics for the design of public and administrative institutions, which aim at minimizing the risks of capture from both public and private sources. By following these heuristics, it claims, we can successfully employ the administrative state as a weapon against concentrated private power, rather than allowing it to serve as a tool of dominant groups. (shrink)

The agentic web refers to a vision of the internet where AI agents play a central role in facilitating interactions, automating tasks, and enhancing user experiences. Realizing this vision requires us to rethink how we govern the internet. Within the agentic web, the promise of AI systems becoming more decentralized and autonomous represents unique challenges and opportunities for governance, necessitating innovative approaches to ensure responsible integration into society. Toward this end, we propose the Know Your Agent framework, designed to manage (...) Decentralized AI agents through identity verification, behavioral monitoring, and accountability mechanisms. Our approach integrates protocol science and legal engineering, utilizing blockchain technology to support these efforts. (shrink)

Design for Values (DfV) philosophies are a series of design approaches that aim to incorporate human values into the early phases of technological design to direct innovation into beneficial outcomes. The difficulty and necessity of directing advantageous futures for transformative technologies through the application and adoption of value-based design approaches are apparent. However, questions of whose values to design are of critical importance. DfV philosophies typically aim to enrol the stakeholders who may be affected by the emergence of such a (...) technology. However, regardless of which design approach is adopted, all enrolled stakeholders are human ones who propose human values. Contemporary scholarship on metahumanisms, particularly those on posthumanism, have decentred the human from its traditionally privileged position among other forms of life. Arguments that the humanist position is not (and has never been) tenable are persuasive. As such, scholarship has begun to provide a more encompassing ontology for the investigation of nonhuman values. Given the potentially transformative nature of future technologies as relates to the earth and its many assemblages, it is clear that the value investigations of these design approaches fail to account for all relevant stakeholders (i.e., nonhuman animals). This paper has two primary objectives: (1) to argue for the cogency of a posthuman ethics in the design of technologies; and (2) to describe how existing DfV approaches can begin to envision principled and methodological ways of incorporating non-human values into design. To do this, the paper provides a rudimentary outline of what constitutes DfV approaches. It then takes up a unique design approach called Value Sensitive Design (VSD) as an illustrative example. Out of all the other DfV frameworks, VSD most clearly illustrates a principled approach to the integration of values in design. (shrink)

SUMMARY The research focuses on the three main political parties in Albania, namely Socialist Party, Democratic Party and Socialist Movement for Integration. Its objectives are to measure the Intra-Party Democracy(IPD) in the Albanian political parties and to explore the meaning that party members attach to it. The IPD is understood and broken down into categories and sub-categories so that parties in particular and all interested actors in the field of political parties and democracy could understand, which component of IPD parties (...) are performing better and where they are performing worse. IPD is measured against two dimensions: inclusiveness and decentralization. Inclusiveness denotes the extent to which party members have the right to express their opinions and participate in the decision-making process. With decentralization is understood the process which makes possible the decentralization of the decision-making process from the highest national party level to party sub-national levels and party members. In a decentralized party, subnational party units enjoy a certain level of autonomy from the party in the center. The analysis is based on both primary and secondary data. Content analysis of party statutes particularly focuses on measuring IPD, while focus groups with party members and interviews with high-ranking officials of the political parties are used to explore the meaning that party members have on IPD, as well as validate content analysis findings. The main findings are: -/- Content Analysis of Party Statutes: Parties do have rules that govern their internal life, however these rules need to be improved in order to strengthen IPD. Especially problematic were the provisions for the role of the executive committee and party president, which provide these two institutions, especially the leader of the party with powers that don’t hold him/her accountable to the party members and middle level organs. Furthermore, members were not sufficiently involved in the procedures of candidate nominations for MPs, in the election of the national Executive and Executive Committee and in the election of the Party President. The analysis also finds that voting procedures are not sufficiently at place to allow members express their will and participate in the decision-making process and that members are not or little consulted in terms of programmatic issues. The analysis of the relationship between the national and subnational levels of party organization revealed that the center of the party has accumulated power to the detriment of the subnational units which enjoy little autonomy in the decision-making process. -/- Focus Groups and Interviews: The study finds that party members linked system-level democracy with IPD and that they have a very clear understanding if IPD: what it is and how it could be achieved. They linked IPD with the structure and organization of the party, seeing it as an important instrument that allows for decentralization of power and integration of rank and file into the decision-making process. The party members considered the statute as an important educational political tool and invoked it whenever disputes rose or decisions had to be taken. They linked IPD with the electoral system and considered that closed list proportional was a system that strengthened the power in the hands of the few at the party top executive level and weakened IPD. (shrink)

Cooperation is vital to our survival and progress. Evolutionary game theory offers a lens to understand the structures and incentives that enable cooperation to be a successful strategy. As artificial intelligence agents become integral to human systems, the dynamics of cooperation take on unprecedented significance. The convergence of human-agent teaming, contract theory, and decentralized frameworks like Web3—grounded in transparency, accountability, and trust—offers a foundation for fostering cooperation by establishing enforceable rules and incentives for humans and AI agents. We conceptualize Incentivized (...) Symbiosis as a social contract between humans and AI, inspired by Web3 principles and encoded in blockchain technology, to define and enforce rules, incentives, and consequences for both parties. By exploring this paradigm, we aim to catalyze new research at the intersection of systems thinking in AI, Web3, and society, fostering innovative pathways for cooperative human-agent coevolution. (shrink)

The Doppelgänger or Double presents literature as the “double” of philosophy. There are historical reasons for this. The genesis of the Doppelgänger is literature’s response to the philosophical focus on subjectivity. The Doppelgänger was coined by the German author Jean Paul in 1796 as a critique of Idealism’s assertion of subjective autonomy, individuality and human agency. This critique prefigures post-War extrapolations of the subject as decentred. From this perspective, the Doppelgänger has a “family resemblance” to current conceptualizations of subjectivity. It (...) becomes the emblematic subject of modernity. This is the first significant study on the Doppelgänger’s influence on philosophical thought. The Doppelgänger emerges as a hidden and unexplored element both in conceptions of subjectivity and in philosophy’s relation to literature. Vardoulakis demonstrates this by employing the Doppelgänger to read literature philosophically and to read philosophy as literature. The Doppelgänger then appears instrumental in the self-conception of both literature and philosophy. (shrink)

In Spike Jonze’s Her (2013), we watch the film’s protagonist, Theodore, as he struggles with the end of his marriage and a growing attachment to his artificially intelligent operating system, Samantha. While the film remains unique in its ability to cinematically portray the Lacanian contention that “there is no sexual relationship,” this article explores how our digital non-relationships can be re-approached through the medium of comedy. Specifically, when looked at through a comic lens, notable scenes from Her are examined for (...) the potential they provide in affording a self-decentrement which allows us to traverse the fantasies that structure our non-relations. (shrink)

Selon l'interprétation traditionnelle de la révolution coperni­cienne, le géocentrisme est un anthropocentrisme et l'héliocen­trisme, un anthro­­popériphérisme. C'est cette double assimila­tion que cet article entend remettre en question. En effet, le géocentrisme peut être appréhendé comme un théocentrisme, un héliocentrisme, un diablo­centrisme et un anthropofinalisme, mais il n'en reste pas moins, indubitablement, un anthropopéri­phérisme. Le seul «anthropocentra­lisme» qui lui appartienne est un anthropoconceptualisme qui, hors de toute perspective valo­risante, n'est qu'une incapacité à se dé­centrer. Quant à l'hélio­centrisme proprement dit, s'il s'oppose (...) à l'anthropofinalisme des Anciens et à ce qu'il croit être leur anthropo­centralisme, il ne dégénère pas pour autant en un anthropo­péri­phérisme, car, d'une part, il est davantage préoccupé par la centration du So­leil que par la décentration de la Terre et, d'autre part, il par­vient même à s'accom­moder de perspectives franchement anthro­pocentriques. ––– According to the traditional interpretation of the Copernican revolution, the old geocentric system was anthropocentric and the new heliocentric system anthropoperipheric. The double assimilation is what this article wants to call into question. Although a geocentric system can be seen to be theocentric, a heliocentric system can be interpreted as being diabolocentric and anthropofinalist, but also undeniably anthropoperipheric. The only way a heliocentric system can be seen as anthropo­centric is as being anthropoconceptualist. Far from honouring man, this demonstrates an incapacity to see things from a point of view other than man's own. Although a heliocentric system is opposed to the ancient anthropofinality and what was seen as anthropocentrality, it is not necessarily anthropoperipheric. This is firstly because the new system was far more preoccupied with the new centrality of the sun than with the new position of the earth, and secondly because the new system managed to incorporate many aspects of anthropocentrality in her new vision. (shrink)

The relationship between Adam Smith's official methodology and his own actual theoretical practice as a social scientist may be grasped only against the background of the Humean project of Moral Newtonianism. The main features in Smith's methodology are (i) the provisional character of explanatory principles, (ii) 'internal' criteria of truth, (iii) the acknowledgement of an imaginative aspect in principles, with the related problem of the relationship between internal truth and external truth understood as mirroring 'real' causes. Smith's Newtonian (as opposed (...) to Cartesian) methodology makes room for progress in social theorizing as it allows for a decentralization of the various fields of Moral Science, contributing to the shaping of political economy. On the other hand, the Cartesian legacy in Smith's Newtonian methodology makes the relationship problematic between phenomena and principles. (shrink)

Michael Dorf and Charles Sabel invoke John Dewey’s “pragmatist account of thought and action” as the “backdrop” for their theory of democratic experimentalism, an approach to governance emphasizing judicially monitored local decision making within a system of decentralized administrative authority. Little credit for influence is given to the Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek and his classic liberal ideas. Indeed, Sabel has been highly critical of Hayek’s ideas. Yet, an argument can be made that (i) democratic experimentalism is at least loosely Hayekian (...) and (ii) a combined Deweyan-Hayekian analysis of Dorf and Sabel’s theory reveals some critical mistakes. One implication of my analysis is that Dewey and Hayek’s ideas are more compatible than most democratic theorists and political philosophers will admit. Evidence of this compatibility opens the door for creating and evaluating democratic experiments within a Deweyan-Hayekian theoretical framework, as well as extending the framework to other areas of political inquiry. (shrink)

The challenge of AI alignment is not just a technological issue but fundamentally an epistemic one. AI safety research predominantly relies on empirical validation, often detecting failures only after they manifest. However, certain risks—such as deceptive alignment and goal misspecification—may not be empirically testable until it is too late, necessitating a shift toward leading-indicator logical reasoning. This paper explores how mainstream AI research systematically filters out deep epistemic insight, hindering progress in AI safety. We assess the rarity of such insights, (...) conduct an experiment testing large language models for epistemic blind spots, and propose structural reforms, including contrarian epistemic screening, decentralized collective intelligence mechanisms, and epistemic challenge platforms. Our findings suggest that while AGI may emerge through incremental engineering, ensuring its safe alignment likely requires an epistemic paradigm shift. (shrink)

The study of culture and cultural selection from a biological perspective has been hampered by the lack of any firm theoretical basis for how the information for cultural traits is stored and transmitted. In addition, the study of any living system with a decentralized or multi-level information structure has been somewhat restricted due to the focus in genetics on the gene and the particular hereditary structure of multicellular organisms. Here a different perspective is used, one which regards living systems as (...) self-constructing energy users that utilize their genome as a library of information, making the genetic system just another component that adds fitness to the overall integrated unit. In this framework, basic fitness is measured as the ability to gather energy for growth and reproduction, and the fitness of the genetic system is broken down into two aspects: first, the effectiveness in searching for new somatic functional information, and second, the effectiveness in searching for better structures to store and process information. With this more generalized perspective, major evolutionary transitions to higher levels of organization become competitions between different information structures; furthermore the functioning and fitness of cultural systems can be more easily described and compared with other modes of information storage within biological systems. Modern technological societies are self-constructing systems that rely on written (symbolic) information storage and very complex algorithms that effectively search for variation with a high probability of successful selection. These systems are currently competing with traditional organic systems, and this competition constitutes the latest major evolutionary transition. Upon comparison of the energy-gathering potential of symbolic-based systems with DNA-based life, it appears that symbolic systems have a tremendous fitness potential and the current shift to a higher level of selection may be as significant and far-reaching as any of the previous major evolutionary transitions. (shrink)

In the 1990s , a debate raged across the whole postsocialist world as well as in Western development agencies such as the World Bank about the best approach to the transition from various forms of socialism or communism to a market economy and political democracy. One of the most hotly contested topics was the question of the workplace being organized based on workplace democracy (e.g., various forms of worker ownership) or based on the conventional employer-employee relationship. Well before 1989, many (...) of the socialist countries had started experimenting with various forms of "self-management" operating in more of a market setting, Yugoslavia being the most developed example. Thus one "path to the market" would have been to push those experiments all the way to some Western form of employee ownership or worker cooperatives operating in a full market environment. Alternatively, all these decentralizing experiments could be condemned as "vestiges of communism" to be eradicated by renationalizing all the decentralized firms and then privatizing by some alternative means. (shrink)

Andrzej Klimczuk, Raport Desk Research: samorządowa i obywatelska współpraca transgraniczna w województwie podlaskim. Przegląd literatury i dokumentów strategicznych (Desk Research Report: Local government and civic organisations cross-border cooperation in the Podlaskie region. A literature and strategic documents review), Fundacja SocLab, Białystok 2013, 137p. ** Celem niniejszego opracowania jest przybliżenie podstaw teoretycznych dyplomacji publicznej oraz charakterystyki metod i obszarów współpracy transgranicznej prowadzonej przez samorządy województwa podlaskiego. Raport w szczególności zwraca uwagę na obywatelski i samorządowy wymiar polskiej polityki zagranicznej. Podjętą analizę ukierunkowano (...) na rozpoznanie dotychczasowych praktyk w tym zakresie, jak też na określenie wniosków i rekomendacji, co do dalszego rozwoju zdecentralizowanej polityki zagranicznej. W raporcie w pierwszej kolejności omówiono podstawowe pojęcia teoretyczne związane z obywatelską i samorządową współpracą transgraniczną. Zwrócono uwagę na priorytety zdecentralizowanej polityki zagranicznej Polski oraz na zróżnicowanie sektorowe aktorów współpracy transgranicznej w województwie podlaskim. Następnie w podziale na powiaty omówiono realizowane i planowane inicjatywy współpracy transgranicznej obecne w dostępnych publicznie dokumentach strategicznych samorządów woj. podlaskiego. W dalszej części raportu podjęto próbę podsumowania obszarów i metod współpracy oraz wskazano na główne wnioski i rekomendacje. ** The aim of this paper is to present the theoretical basis of public diplomacy and the characteristics of methods and areas of cross-border cooperation conducted by local governments in Podlaskie Voivodship. Report, in particular, draws attention to the civic and local government dimension of Polish foreign policy. Undertaken analysis was targeted to recognition of existing practices in this area, as well as to identify conclusions and recommendations for further development of decentralized foreign policy. This report first discusses the basic theoretical concepts related to citizenship and local government cross-border cooperation. Attention was drawn to priorities of Polish decentralized foreign policy and sectoral diversification of cross-border cooperation actors in the Podlaskie Voivodship. Next the existing and planned cross-border cooperation initiatives present in the public programs and strategies of local governments and districts were discussed. Later in the report an attempt to summarize the areas and methods of cooperation were undertaken as well as some main conclusions and recommendations were pointed out. (shrink)

The AI and AI alignment communities have been instrumental in addressing existential risks, developing alignment methodologies, and promoting rationalist problem-solving approaches. However, as AI research ventures into increasingly uncertain domains, there is a risk of premature epistemic convergence, where prevailing methodologies influence not only the evaluation of ideas but also determine which ideas are considered within the discourse. This paper examines critical epistemic blind spots in AI alignment research, particularly the lack of predictive frameworks to differentiate problems necessitating general intelligence, (...) decentralized intelligence, or innovative alignment methodologies. We analyze how heuristic-based epistemic filtering—favoring ideas that conform to established norms over those assessed purely on logical merit—may inadvertently constrain the field's potential for groundbreaking solutions. The semblance of rigor, wherein social consensus and stylistic conformity replace foundational reasoning, further intensifies this concern. To mitigate these issues, we advocate for an epistemically adaptive research environment that emphasizes structured evaluation of paradigm-challenging ideas, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and strategies to identify and reduce epistemic overfitting. By broadening the epistemic frameworks governing AI alignment discourse, the field can progress beyond incremental improvements toward discovering entirely new solution paradigms. Maintaining epistemic inclusivity in AI safety research is not only an intellectual necessity but also a crucial step in preparing alignment efforts for the challenges posed by rapid AI advancements. (shrink)