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On 08/25/2015 01:32 AM, jim bell wrote:
[...]
That technology is known as smart contracts—small computer
programs that can do things like execute financial trades or
notarize documents in a legal agreement. Intended to take the
place of third-party human administrators such as lawyers,
which are required in many deals and agreements, they can
verify information and hold or use funds using similar
cryptography to that which underpins Bitcoin.
[...]
One example is a contract offering a cryptocurrency reward for
hacking a particular website. Ethereum’s programming
language
makes it possible for the contract to control the promised
funds. It will release them only to someone who provides proof
of having carried out the job, in the form of a
cryptographically verifiable string added to the defaced site.
[...]
Contracts with a similar design could be used to commission
many kinds of crime, say the researchers. Most provocatively,
they outline a version designed to arrange the assassination of
a public figure. A person wishing to claim the bounty would
have to send information such as the time and place of the
killing in advance. The contract would pay out after verifying
that those details had appeared in several trusted news
sources, such as news wires. A similar approach could be used
for lesser physical crimes, such as
high-profile vandalism.
My first thought: What's to prevent the markets for contract hits
on websites and public figures from being monitored by potential
victims, and the bounties stolen by 'anonymous' parties, a.k.a.
the proposed victims themselves, by simulating the trigger
conditions for payouts?
Really unpopular people could anonymously crowdfund actions
against themselves then collect the loot, a nearly perfect crime.
Ultimately, human judgment must have veto power over the automated
decision processes - which would void the concept of an
impersonal, automated payout process, bringing the reinvented
wheel full circle.
:o)
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