Category Archives: Uncategorized

xxx “This essay argues that ‘data ownership’ is a flawed, counterproductive way of thinking about data. It not only does not fix existing problems; it creates new ones. Instead, we need a framework that gives people rights to stipulate how their data is used without requiring them to take ownership of it themselves.” From “It’s time for aContinue reading “It’s time for a Bill of Data Rights – MIT Technology Review”

A young relative of mine was coerced into spending this last week end at an English holiday camp resort. When she got there she was shocked to discover that, for whatever reason, they were cash only for the weekend! All over the complex were “cash only” signs! Remember, these signs are completely unfamiliar to anyoneContinue reading “Blog The shock of cash”

While I was thinking about this, I happened on an article in The New Yorker that really made me think about the importance of virtual identities, the practical impact of personae. The article concerned X Anderson, the Chair of the University of Michigan’s department of philosophy and a “champion of the view that equality andContinue reading “POST Identity and equality”

xxx “At fifty-nine, Anderson is the chair of the University of Michigan’s department of philosophy and a champion of the view that equality and freedom are mutually dependent,” From “The Philosopher Redefining Equality | The New Yorker”. xxx xxx “‘People now have the freedom to have crosscutting identities in different domains. At church, I’m oneContinue reading “The Philosopher Redefining Equality | The New Yorker”

xxx “The circumvention of trust is a great promise, but it’s just not true.” From “There’s No Good Reason to Trust Blockchain Technology | WIRED”. xxx

xxx “I think it’s useful to distinguish two kinds of crypto-asset. Let us call these ‘imitative’ and ‘entitative’ respectively. An entitative crypto-asset (ECA) is an asset that only exists on a blockchain e.g. ‘bitcoins’ themselves (UTXO), or cryptokitties. An imitative crypto-asset (ICA) is an asset that exists on a blockchain, but which is intended toContinue reading “Bitcoin and the Promise of Independent Property Rights — a reply”

xxx “The proposal is for a central bank to divide the monetary base into two separate local currencies—cash and electronic money (e-money). E-money would be issued only electronically and would pay the policy rate of interest, and cash would have an exchange rate—the conversion rate—against e-money.” From “Cashing In: How to Make Negative Interest RatesContinue reading “Cashing In: How to Make Negative Interest Rates Work – IMF Blog”

When I was in New York a couple of weeks ago I had to visit a couple of different buildings for various meetings. At the first building, I was asked for identification. As I am English and not North Korean, I don’t carry identification papers with me when I walk down the street and myContinue reading “Scan my license? You must be joking”

This is a web reprint of the article “What is Cyberspace” by David Birch and Peter Buck. This article appeared three decades ago in the Computer Law & Security Review, Volume 8, Issue 2, March–April 1992, Pages 74-76. Here it is, updated with hyperlinks and pictures for a new generation of readers… Introduction In a recentContinue reading “POST April 2022 What is Cyberspace (Commemorative web reprint)”

xxx Substantial numbers still rely heavily on cash: 3.4 million people in the UK rarely use cash, but 2.2 million people rely almost wholly on cash, up from only 1.6 million people in 2014. From Cashing Out: The hidden costs and consequences of moving to a cashless society – RSA. It struck me as quiteContinue reading “Cashing Out: The hidden costs and consequences of moving to a cashless society – RSA”