Permissionless Innovation The Continuing Case For Comprehensive Technological Freedom

Will innovators be forced to seek the blessing of public officials before they develop and deploy new devices and services, or will they be generally left free to experiment with new technologies and business models? In this book, Adam Thierer argues that if the former disposition, “the precautionary principle,” trumps the latter, “permissionless innovation,” the result will be fewer services, lower-quality goods, higher prices, diminished economic growth, and a decline in the overall standard of living. When public policy is shaped by “precautionary principle” reasoning, it poses a serious threat to technological progress, economic entrepreneurialism, and long-run prosperity. By contrast, permissionless innovation has fueled the success of the Internet and much of the modern tech economy in recent years, and it is set to power the next great industrial revolution—if we let it.

Innovators of all stripes—such as Airbnb and Uber—are increasingly using new technological capabilities to circumvent traditional regulatory systems, or at least put pressure on public policymakers to reform laws and regulations that are outmoded, inefficient, or illogical. Disruptive innovators are emerging in other fields, too, using technologies as wide‐​ranging as 3D printers, drones, driverless cars, Bitcoin and blockchain, virtual reality, the “Internet of Things,” and more. Some of these innovators just love to tinker. Others want to change the world with new life‐​enriching products. And many more are just looking to earn a living and support their families. Regardless of why they are doing it, these evasive entrepreneurs— innovators who don’t always conform to social or legal norms—are changing the world and challenging their governments. Beyond boosting economic growth and raising our living standards, evasive entrepreneurialism can play an important role in constraining unaccountable governmental activities that often fail to reflect common sense or the consent of the governed. In essence, evasive entrepreneurialism and technological civil disobedience are new checks and balances that help us rein in the excesses of the state, make government more transparent and accountable, and ensure that our civil rights and economic liberties are respected. Evasive Entrepreneurs and the Future of Governance explores why evasive entrepreneurs are increasingly engaged in different forms of technological civil disobedience and also makes the case that we should accept—and often even embrace—a certain amount of that activity as a way to foster innovation, economic growth, and accountable government.

The book makes the case for embracing evasive entrepreneurs and the freedom to innovative more generally because of the many benefits that individuals, society, and even governments derive from acts of technological creativity.

We are on the cusp of a dramatic wave of technological change - from blockchain to automated smart contracts, artificial intelligence and machine learning to advances in cryptography and digitisation, from Internet of Things to advanced communications technologies. These are the new technologies of freedom. These tools present a historical unprecedented opportunity to recapture individual freedoms in the digital age - to expand individual rights, to protect property, to defend our privacy and personal data, to exercise our freedom of speech, and to develop new voluntary communities. This book presents a call to arms. The liberty movement has spent too much time begging the state for its liberties back. We can now use new technologies to build the free institutions that are needed for human flourishing without state permission. The New Technologies of Freedom is part of a joint project between the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub, an academic research centre based at RMIT University in Melbourne Australia, and the Mannkal Economic Education Foundation. Mannkal's mission is developing future free market leaders. Mannkal promotes free enterprise, limited government and individual initiative for the benefit of all Australians. The American Institute for Economic Research in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was founded in 1933 as the first independent voice for sound economics in the United States. Today it publishes ongoing research, hosts educational programs, publishes books, sponsors interns and scholars, and is home to the world-renowned Bastiat Society and the highly respected Sound Money Project. The American Institute for Economic Research is a 501c3 public charity.

This book examines the technical, market, and policy innovations for unlocking sustainable investment in the energy sector. While finalizing this book, the COVID-19 pandemic is cutting a devastating swath through the global economy, causing the biggest fall in energy sector investment, exacerbating the global trade finance gap, worsening signs of growing income inequality, and devastating the health and livelihoods of millions. What is the parallel between the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate change crisis? The impacts of the global pandemic are expected to last for a few years, whereas those associated with the climate crisis will play out over several decades with potentially irreversible consequences. However, both show that the cost of inaction or delay in addressing the risks can lead to devastating outcomes or a greater probability of irreversible, catastrophic damages. In the context of sustainable energy investment and the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy, what ways can financial markets and institutions support net-zero-emission activities and the shift to a sustainable economy, including investment in energy efficiency, low-carbon and renewable energy technologies? This book provides students, policymakers, and energy investment professionals with the knowledge and theoretical tools necessary to address related questions in sustainable energy investment, risk management, and energy innovation agendas.

As the number of digital devices used in daily life grows, it comes as no surprise that the next step in technological evolution is to conveniently interconnect these devices. This is where the Internet of Things fits in. The Internet of Things refers to all devices that are connected to the internet and share data on it, but there are numerous applications for this technology, ranging from smartphones to driverless cars. Despite the convenience smart devices offer, they also raise significant concerns about data privacy and security. Readers will encounter contrasting viewpoints on this timely and evolving issue.

The field of artificial intelligence (AI) has made tremendous advances in the last two decades, but as smart as AI is now, it is getting smarter and becoming more autonomous. This raises a host of challenges to current legal doctrine, including whether AI/algorithms should count as ‘speech’, whether AI should be regulated under antitrust and criminal law statutes, and whether AI should be considered as an agent under agency law or be held responsible for injuries under tort law. This book contains chapters from US and international law scholars on the role of law in an age of increasingly smart AI, addressing these and other issues that are critical to the evolution of the field.

Handbook on ICT in Developing Countries: Next Generation ICT Technologies is the second volume of the Handbook of ICT in Developing Countries. The first volume was on the potential implementation and service delivery of the forth-coming 5G networks. Here the focus is on the new technologies and services enabled by 5G networks or broadband Internet networks including artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, augmented reality, Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous driving, blockchain solutions, cloud solutions etc. Some of these are already globally experiencing growth in the existing networks and all of them are expected to grow substantially in the future. Examples: currently, 5% of global organizations have fully adopted AI, but the penetration is expected to increase rapidly before 2025. IoT with 20.35 billion devices connected in 2017 is estimated to show 75.44 billion devices connected in 2025. The expected growth is based on delivering of new value to businesses and citizens. It is, however, not obvious that this growth will also occur in developing countries. Currently, the digital divide between developing countries and developed countries is widening. This is mostly due to the lack of infrastructure and low level of awareness by the businesses and citizens of the value made possible by the new technologies for developing countries. The book discusses the potentials of the new technologies for developing countries and the need for market interventions that will facilitate the demand and supply side of the market. It is designed for a broad audience including practitioners, researchers, academics, policy makers and industry players and influencers. The language and approach to the handbook is a combination of the academic writing style and professional reviews.