Economics of the fourth industrial revolution: Internet, artificial intelligence and blockchain

Recommended by: Rasananda Panda

Content:

Chapter 1 Introduction: how and why to understand the fourth industrial revolution
1 Our approach to the economics of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
2 A preview of our arguments
References
Part I Industrial revolutions: what they are, why they matter, how to analyse them
Chapter 2 Industrial revolutions past, present and future: a brief overview of how we got here and where we’re going
1 From economic stagnation to economic growth
2 Malthusian dynamics and the pre-growth era
3 The Industrial Revolution: The First
4 The Technological Revolution: The Second
5 The Digital Revolution: The Third
6 The Fourth Industrial Revolution
References
Chapter 3 The telos of industrial revolutions: how what people value drives the adoption of new technologies
1 Means, ends and value
2 A hierarchy of value
2.1 Transcendental value
2.2 Foundational value
2.3 Aspirational value
3 Industrial Revolutions promote higher-order values
References
Chapter 4 The "Brisbane Club" model: mind, society, economy as complex evolving networks
1 Society and economy as complex evolving networks
2 Formation of socioeconomic systems: environment, mind and socioeconomy
3 Evolution of socioeconomic systems: changing environments, changing minds, changing technologies
3.1 Substitutes and complements: incentives and technology
3.1 Creativity, experimentation, play and narratives in mental evolution
3.1 Salience, chains and anchoring: framing the environment
3.1 Summary: evolution of socioeconomic systems at the micro-level
4 Micro-meso-macro: new ways of doing things cause disruption, then recoordination
5 Summary: applying the Brisbane Club model to the mega-technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
Technical appendix
References
Part II Internet: hyper-competition, hyper-growth and the struggle for attention in global markets
Chapter 5 Global markets and the struggle for attention: communication and platforms in the rapidly-evolving internet age
1 The internet: a remarkable data-transfer technology
2 Why the internet matters: platforms for socioeconomic interaction on a global scale
3 The struggle for attention in the internet: cognitive constraints in a sea of information
4 Disruption and recoordination as global markets emerge: a hyper-charged economy
5 Summary: global markets, commoditised attention present opportunities to be seized and challenges to be mitigated
Technical Appendix
References
Chapter 6 The ocean in your pocket: case studies in global markets and the struggle for attention
1 The smartphone and wearable technology
2 Education applications
3 Entertainment applications
4 Text and voice: from reading and typing to listening and speaking
5 A tool for democratisation? Who controls the flows?
6 Competing platforms, fragmentation and the market for marketplaces
References
Part III Artificial Intelligence: radical automation and expansion of human capability
Chapter 7 The I Robot future: human work in an age of artificial intelligence
1 The machine with a mind: what artificial intelligence is
2 The economics of a machine with a mind: building a substitute for us
3 The economic limits of artificial intelligence: where machines are non-substitutable for human labour
3.1 Mistakes and emotions as mothers of invention
3.2 Deep creativity, judgement, consciousness and Gödel’s theorem
3.3 Tacit knowledge, development and evolution
4 Disruption and recoordination as I Robot rises: part utopia, part plutocracy
5 Summary: human work in an age of artificial intelligence presents challenges, but also profound opportunities
Technical Appendix
References
Chapter 8 The ghost and the machine: case studies in the I Robot future
1 Automation, capital, and labour
2 Prediction and Contingency Planning
3 Comparative advantages of human and machine prediction
4 Supply Chain Optimization
References
Part IV Blockchain: decentralising power, authority and the design of systems of governance
Chapter 9 The entrepreneurship of rules: institutions in an age of blockchain
1 The ledger of facts: the blockchain as a foundation for privatised institutional governance of platforms
2 Adopting a privatised platform with institutional governance: substitution between rule systems
3 Disruption and recoordination as privatised institutional governance emerges: a new era for community-based solutions
4 Summary: the entrepreneurship of rules faces significant challenges, but also presents extraordinary opportunities
Technical Appendix
References
Chapter 10 Leaderless revolutions: case studies in the entrepreneurship of rules
1 Coordination, rules, governance, law, and order
2 Alternative governance structures for institutions
2.1 The DAO
2.2 Open source economics and CBPP communities
3 Some promising applications for blockchains
3.1 Digital identity
3.2 Energy sector
3.3 Healthcare
3.4 Supply chains
3.5 Digital currency
References
Part V Discussion and Conclusions: harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution in systems building
Chapter 11 The new economy: opportunities, challenges, and what to do about them
1 The new economy: global markets, commoditised attention, utopia with a hint of plutocracy and privatised rules
2 Opportunities and challenges in the new economy
3 Strategies for seizing opportunities and mitigating challenges
3.1 At the level of the individual: seek a "classical" education and cultivate the antifragile personality
3.2 At the level of the group and organisation: build complementarities and cultivate the antifragile mindset
3.3 At the level of the community: harness blockchain for institutional governance by forming and coordinating expectations of governance solutions
4 Summary: opportunities and challenges in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and what to do about them
References
Epilogue: a call to engage with a brave new world, and to have contingency plans