4 ms·

Absolutely not! There is way too much "wiggle room" when you deal with multiple nationalities, different cultures, foreign languages, jurisdictions... The only

Absolutely not! There is way too much "wiggle room" when you deal with multiple nationalities, different cultures, foreign languages, jurisdictions... The only thing that is rock solid and predictable is contract written in programming code. But I am not saying that current implementations are best. (disclosure: I worked on ethereum related tech)

hndamien 8y ago
I think there is room for both. Start with very simple contracts first.
Nursie 8y ago
> The only thing that is rock solid and predictable is contract written in programming code. The only code that's 'rock solid and predictable' is code that's been formally proven. Are smart contracts doing that? Further, as described above, even if they were perfectly written every time, they'd still be a poor replacement for human law. We are squishy, imperfect and inconstant, we have legal protections and legal wiggle-room for a lot of reasons.
- jankotek 8y ago
  Some smart contracts (and underlying VM) are formally proven. My former employer invests heavily in that direction. And it is very easy to verify "1+1=2" or "amount + amount X 0.12 X number_of_months". But my point is that meat contracts are very expensive to draft and enforce. It is not worth to sue someone in China over $50.
  - KSteffensen 8y ago
    That suing over legitimate claims is not worth it is an artifact of the legal system, not of the law or contract.
    - mcguire 8y ago
      That suing over (tiny) legitimate claims is not worth it is a feature of the legal system, not a bug.
      - sincerely 8y ago
        Are you sure? It seems to me like this disproportionately affects poor people.
      - KSteffensen 8y ago
        Only because the whole process is a lot of hassle and work for everyone involved, so it can be used with a primary purpose of chicanery rather than actually getting your legitimate claim. If a lawsuit could be resolved quickly and fairly with little effort on both sides, I'm sure the limit for when it would be worth it would drop. I'd consider that a feature, not a bug.
- KSteffensen 8y ago
  Formally proven code is not necessarily bug-free or even ' rock solid and predictable'.

hndamien 8y ago

I think there is room for both. Start with very simple contracts first.

Nursie 8y ago

> The only thing that is rock solid and predictable is contract written in programming code. The only code that's 'rock solid and predictable' is code that's been formally proven. Are smart contracts doing that? Further, as described above, even if they were perfectly written every time, they'd still be a poor replacement for human law. We are squishy, imperfect and inconstant, we have legal protections and legal wiggle-room for a lot of reasons.

jankotek 8y ago
Some smart contracts (and underlying VM) are formally proven. My former employer invests heavily in that direction. And it is very easy to verify "1+1=2" or "amount + amount X 0.12 X number_of_months". But my point is that meat contracts are very expensive to draft and enforce. It is not worth to sue someone in China over $50.
- KSteffensen 8y ago
  That suing over legitimate claims is not worth it is an artifact of the legal system, not of the law or contract.
  - mcguire 8y ago
    That suing over (tiny) legitimate claims is not worth it is a feature of the legal system, not a bug.
    - sincerely 8y ago
      Are you sure? It seems to me like this disproportionately affects poor people.
    - KSteffensen 8y ago
      Only because the whole process is a lot of hassle and work for everyone involved, so it can be used with a primary purpose of chicanery rather than actually getting your legitimate claim. If a lawsuit could be resolved quickly and fairly with little effort on both sides, I'm sure the limit for when it would be worth it would drop. I'd consider that a feature, not a bug.
KSteffensen 8y ago
Formally proven code is not necessarily bug-free or even ' rock solid and predictable'.