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We could evolve to requiring laws to be implemented as FOSS before they go live. I suspect the right tests could reveal all kinds of bugs, weird edge cases and
by 6510 5y ago
We could evolve to requiring laws to be implemented as FOSS before they go live. I suspect the right tests could reveal all kinds of bugs, weird edge cases and exploits.
Sadly law makers don't know how to code. If they did they would see what bloated monstrosity of complexity a few simple sounding sentences with some simple sounding exceptions produce. Perhaps a large bill and months of delay could provide enough of a clue.
- wahern 5y agoAFAIU, the French Tax Code is effectively defined in terms of an algorithm. There was a recent HN thread (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25208853 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25208853) on a new open-source compiler for the tax code (https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.07966 https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.07966). The paper for the compiler references some interesting literature on the computability of legal codes. For example, > [U.S.] tax law drafting style follows default logic, a non-monotonic logic that is hard to encode in languages with first-order logic (FOL).
- 6510 5y agoFascinating. I thought Estonia was the only one who kept an eye on difficulty of implementation.
- qzw 5y agoTax laws are hundreds to thousands of pages each. The complexity is intentional and not accidental. Many carve outs are specifically created for special interest or to target certain constituencies. Edit: referring to the US