Violable Contracts and Governance for Blockchain Applications
Abstract
We examine blockchain technologies, especially smart contracts, as a platform for decentralized applications. By providing a basis for consensus, blockchain promises to upend business models that presuppose a central authority. However, blockchain suffers from major shortcomings arising from an over-regimented way of organizing computation that limits its prospects. We propose a sociotechnical, yet computational, perspective that avoids those shortcomings. A centerpiece of our vision is the notion of a declarative, violable contract in contradistinction to smart contracts. This new way of thinking enables flexible governance, by formalizing organizational structures; verification of correctness without obstructing autonomy; and a meaningful basis for trust.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1801.02672,
title = {Violable Contracts and Governance for Blockchain Applications},
author = {Munindar P. Singh and Amit K. Chopra},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1801.02672},
year = {2018}
}