This chapter critically investigates the concept of data-opolies âa term coined by Maurice Stucke to describe the monopolistic control over data by dominant tech corporations such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft (GAFAM). It explores how this concentration of data power threatens democratic resilience, distorts competition, and exacerbates socio-political inequalities. Drawing from EcheverrĂaâs Telepolis , Cancelaâs UtopĂas Digitales , and Lehdonvirtaâs Cloud Empires , the chapter unpacks the network effects that entrench data-opolies and their capacity to manipulate user behavior, public opinion, and market dynamics. The chapter contends that these monopolistic structures erode democratic accountability and civic trust by fostering opaque algorithmic governance and undermining citizen agency. In response, it proposes emancipatory datafication strategies , including data cooperatives, algorithmic transparency, and participatory infrastructures, aimed at reclaiming democratic control over digital systems. Special attention is given to the sociopolitical implications of digital nomadism and e-diasporas as new global patterns of democratic interaction. Finally, the chapter offers a visionary assessment of Web3 technologiesâblockchain, DAOs, and data cooperativesâas a potential counterweight to data-opolies. By advancing transparency and user agency, Web3 is presented as a foundation for inclusive, decentralized, and empowered digital democracies fit for the algorithmic age.
Stefano Balietti, Pietro Saggese, Stefan Kitzler, Bernhard Haslhofer
This chapter explores how Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), a novel institutional form based on blockchain technology, challenge traditional centralized governance structures. DAOs govern projects ranging from finance to science and digital communities. They aim to redistribute decision- making power through programmable, transparent, and participatory mechanisms. This chapter outlines both the opportunities DAOs present, such as incentive alignment, rapid coordination, and censorship resistance, and the challenges they face, including token concentration, low participation, and the risk of de facto centralization. It further discusses the emerging intersection of DAOs and artificial intelligence, highlighting the potential for increased automation alongside the dangers of diminished human oversight and algorithmic opacity. Ultimately, we discuss under what circumstances DAOs can fulfill their democratic promise or risk replicating the very power asymmetries they seek to overcome.
Chapter 4, âThe (Dis)Illusion of the Web3 Decentralization,â interrogates the technopolitical and socioeconomic promises of decentralization amid the rise of Web3 and Generative AI (GenAI). Drawing from iterative action research, including fieldwork in Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., the chapter questions whether decentralization genuinely redistributes power or merely consolidates it within a tech-savvy elite. Framed within a post-Westphalian context, it identifies three emerging paradigmsâNetwork States, Network Sovereignties, and Algorithmic Nationsâas divergent responses to this governance transformation. Engaging with the intellectual legacy of Karl Polanyiâs critique of market fundamentalism and Richard R. Nelsonâs call to bridge the âmoon and the ghetto,â the chapter exposes how digital infrastructures may privilege computational capital while marginalizing civic participation. Web3, often mythologized as democratizing, risks replicating algorithmic hierarchies under the guise of innovation. GenAI amplifies these risks by introducing opaque decision-making architectures governed by proprietary models and technical gatekeeping. Ultimately, this chapter urges hybrid, inclusive policy frameworks attentive to both global asymmetries and local contexts. It advances the volumeâs core agenda: to critically âunplugâ prevailing digital governance narratives, reinvigorate normative commitments to justice, and propose a more democratic and equitable digital transition in the era of datafied democracies and AI-driven economies.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly framed as a driver of economic transformation, yet its capacity to alleviate poverty in the Global South remains contested. This article introduces the notion of AI Economicsâthe political economy of value creation, extraction, and redistribution in AI systemsâto interrogate h ow innovation agendas intersect with structural inequalities. This article examines how Social Innovation (SI) systems, when coupled with decentralized Web3 technologies such as blockchain, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), and data cooperatives, may challenge data monopolies, redistribute economic gains, and support inclusive development. Drawing on Action Research (AR) conducted during the AI4SI International Summer School in Donostia-San SebastiĂĄn, this article compares two contrasting ecosystems: (i) the Established AI4SI Ecosystem, marked by centralized governance and uneven benefits, and (ii) the Decentralized Web3 Emerging Ecosystem, which promotes community-driven innovation, data sovereignty, and alternative economic models. Findings underscore AIâs dual economic role: while it can expand digital justice, service provision, and empowerment, it also risks reinforcing dependency and inequality where infrastructures and governance remain weak. This article concludes that embedding AI Economics in context-sensitive, decentralized social innovation systemsâaligned with ethical governance and the SDGsâis essential for realizing AIâs promise of poverty alleviation in the Global South.
BACKGROUND: The benefits of smart contracts (SCs) for sustainable health care are a relatively recent topic that has gathered attention given its relationship with trust and the advantages of decentralization, immutability, and traceability introduced in health care. Nevertheless, more studies need to explore the role of SCs in this sector based on the frameworks propounded in the literature that reflect business logic that has been customized, automatized, and prioritized, as well as system trust. This study addressed this lacuna. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of SCs in health care based on reviewing the frameworks propounded in the literature. METHODS: A structured literature review was performed based on the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) principles. One database-Web of Science (WoS)-was selected to avoid bias generated by database differences and data wrangling. A quantitative assessment of the studies based on machine learning and data reduction methodologies was complemented with a qualitative, in-depth, detailed review of the frameworks propounded in the literature. RESULTS: A total of 70 studies, which constituted 18.7% (70/374) of the studies on this subject, met the selection criteria and were analyzed. A multiple correspondence analysis-with 74.44% of the inertia-produced 3 factors describing the advances in the topic. Two of them referred to the leading roles of SCs: (1) health care process enhancement and (2) assurance of patients' privacy protection. The first role included 6 themes, and the second one included 3 themes. The third factor encompassed the technical features that improve system efficiency. The in-depth review of these 3 factors and the identification of stakeholders allowed us to characterize the system trust in health care SCs. We assessed the risk of coverage bias, and good percentages of overlap were obtained-66% (49/74) of PubMed articles were also in WoS, and 88.3% (181/205) of WoS articles also appeared in Scopus. CONCLUSIONS: This comprehensive review allows us to understand the relevance of SCs and the potentiality of their use in patient-centric health care that considers more than technical aspects. It also provides insights for further research based on specific stakeholders, locations, and behaviors.
How have socio-technical practices in blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI) communities shaped one another and society more widely? This article explores the different and overlapping materialities, practices, spaces and places that the two most hyped technologies of the 21st century are impacting and evolving within. Employing the concept and analogy of âthe stackâ, we show how Machine Learning (ML), and crypto-assets each developed separately and yet become deeply interconnected. In doing so, we pluralise the concept of the stack to trace how two techno-communities have cometh, collided and colluded (Three Cs) in ways that pose varying implications for labour and the enactment of value in hyper capitalist tech-driven economic geographies.
V zadnjem desetletju je zanimanje za kriptovalute moÄno naraslo. S tem je priĆĄlo tudi do porasta kapitala, zaklenjenega v pametnih pogodbah, kar pa je hkrati poveÄalo tveganje za napade. Za prepreÄevanje napadov na pametne pogodbe je potrebna analiza programerskih vzorcev in okolja, v katerem se pametne pogodbe izvajajo. V prispevku obravnavamo varnost omreĆŸja Ethereum in njegovo vlogo v razvoju decentraliziranih aplikacij (angl. decentralised Applications - dApps). Pregledamo uporabo Ethereumovega Virtualnega stroja (EVM), programskega jezika Solidity in zbirnika pri gradnji pametnih pogodb. Poleg tega opiĆĄemo varnostne izzive, s katerimi se sooÄa Ethereumov ekosistem, in analiziramo tri pretekle napade na decentralizirane platforme. Prispevek prinaĆĄa tudi konkreten primer napada na pametno pogodbo, ki izkoriĆĄÄa ranljivost v njeni implementaciji. Rezultat prispevka je prikaz pametne pogodbe, ki ob standardni uporabi deluje pravilno, vendar vsebuje ranljivost, ki jo je mogoÄe izkoristiti za neavtorizirano spreminjanje njenega stanja.
Tanusree Sharma, Yujin Potter, Kornrapat Pongmala, Henry Wang · 7 authors
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) resemble early online communities, particularly those centered around open-source projects, and present a potential empirical framework for complex social-computing systems by encoding governance rules within âsmart contractsâ on the blockchain. A key function of a DAO is collective decision-making, typically carried out through a series of proposals where members vote on organizational events using governance tokens, signifying relative influence within the DAO. In just a few years, the deployment of DAOs surged with a total treasury of $24.5 billion and 11.1M governance token holders collectively managing decisions across over 13,000 DAOs as of 2024 . In this study, we examine the operational dynamics of 100 DAOs, like pleasrdao, lexdao, lootdao, optimism collective, uniswap, etc. With large-scale empirical analysis of a diverse set of DAO categories and smart contracts and by leveraging on-chain (e.g., voting results) and off-chain data, we examine factors such as voting power, participation, and DAO characteristics dictating the level of decentralization, thus, the efficiency of management structures. As such, our study highlights that increased grassroots participation correlates with higher decentralization in a DAO, and lower variance in voting power within a DAO correlates with a higher level of decentralization, as consistently measured by Gini metrics. These insights closely align with key topics in political science, such as the allocation of power in decision-making and the effects of various governance models. We conclude by discussing the implications for researchers, and practitioners, emphasizing how these factors can inform the design of democratic governance systems in emerging applications that require active engagement from stakeholders in decision-making.
Thiago Dias Monteiro, Otavio PrĂłspero Sanchez, Gustavo HermĂnio Salati Marcondes de Moraes
Purpose The current scenario shows increased adoption of off-chain voting applications in decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) to avoid complexity and costs for user engagement in their governance. This paper aims to comprehend the trends and patterns within the DAO community with off-chain voting systems and blockchain usage. Design/methodology/approach This exploratory study uses a two-pronged quantitative approach, combining descriptive statistical analysis and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. Input data from different DAO proposals and votes were analyzed. Findings Results indicate that the 179 DAOs analyzed account for 26,538 proposals and 1,268,474 followers of the entire Snapshot base in January 2023, showing high concentration in engagement. The preferred social media communication channels are Twitter and GitHub, showing a decrease of Ethereum as a main chain, with Polygon and Binance Smart Chain already accounting for 22%. Basic voting can lead to greater user involvement in the voting process. Research limitations/implications This study complements the traditional governance theory perspective and advances in the emerging literature on DAOs and blockchain with an empirical analysis. Practical implications As blockchain technology gains increasing adoption, comprehending trends and patterns within the DAO community becomes pivotal in identifying opportunities and challenges for innovation and improvement. Social implications Findings can facilitate the development of improved governance models and decision-making processes for DAOs, leading to a more robust and sustainable ecosystem. Originality/value This study presents a broader IT-based governance foresight via blockchain while providing an understanding of the voting process, technology features and governance mechanisms for social community engagement and decision-making in DAOs.
A. S. (Ahmed) Al-Dulaimi, P. (Priya) Krishnan, L. M. (Lucas) FernĂĄndez
Ensuring workforce compliance has become a critical priority for global enterprises, particularly in sectors such as banking, healthcare, aviation, and logistics, where safety, security, and regulatory adherence are non-negotiable. Traditional drug testing, alcohol screening, and background verification workflows often rely on fragmented, paper-based, or siloed digital systems that introduce inefficiencies, data integrity risks, and audit challenges. These limitations hinder organizations from meeting the increasing demands of multi-jurisdictional compliance frameworks while also exposing them to reputational and legal risks. This article explores the design and implementation of a blockchain-enabled workforce compliance platform that reimagines the verification pipeline through the principles of immutability, decentralization, and cryptographic security. The proposed architecture leverages permissioned blockchain networks, integrated with smart contracts and distributed identity frameworks, to ensure that drug and alcohol testing results, criminal background checks, and employment verification records are securely stored, transparently auditable, and accessible only to authorized stakeholders. We present a comparative framework highlighting how blockchain-based compliance pipelines outperform traditional systems in areas such as tamper-proof recordkeeping, cross-border interoperability, and regulatory audit readiness. The study also emphasizes integration strategies with enterprise HR systems, third-party verification agencies, and global regulatory standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, OSHA, and aviation compliance codes). Furthermore, the role of privacy-preserving technologies such as zero-knowledge proofs and decentralized identifiers (DIDs) is discussed in enabling compliance without compromising employee confidentiality. The findings demonstrate that blockchain-enabled compliance solutions deliver significant strategic value, including enhanced trust with regulators, reduced operational overhead, real-time verification capabilities, and a resilient defense against fraud or record tampering. By adopting a secure, transparent, and auditable compliance pipeline, global enterprises can build workforce ecosystems that are not only regulatory-compliant but also future-ready for emerging challenges in cross-border governance and digital workforce management.
How does a community remain committed to an imagined digital future despite that futureâs inherent contradictions? This article analyzes such a challenge as it was faced by Berlinâs NFT (non-fungible token) enthusiasts. Dominant narratives about NFTs and other blockchain technologies envision a virtual and ostensibly trust-free future, but these enthusiastsâ pursuit of such âtrustless technologiesâ resulted in a double bind. In this bind, they repudiated trust relations on the web without the means to fully obviate such relations, leaving blockchainâs trustless future in doubt. To resolve this bind, Berlinâs NFT enthusiasts expanded their interactions by assembling in-person. In Berlinâs offline spaces, they found trust relations they deemed permissible according to the dominant blockchain ideology. Rather than blur the boundary between the virtual and physical, this community maintained distinct interactional norms in each, enabling them to maintain their imagined blockchain future.
The gig economy has seen a significant change lately, reclassifying the idea of work and business connections. With the ascent of independent and gig-based open doors, the requirement for proficient and secure payment frameworks has become progressively obvious. This part fills in as a prologue to the advancing scene of the gig economy, revealing insight into the verifiable setting, the changing elements of work, and the rise of blockchain and shrewd agreements as groundbreaking advancements for gig payments.
Edgar Roberto Dulce Villarreal, J. Garcia-Alonso, Julio Ariel Hurtado AlegrĂa
Purpose The use of technology applied to the care of ageing adults is a key strategy to increase the effectiveness of health care delivery, thus contributing to a higher quality of life for ageing people.However, a general and important concern is data security and privacy.Given the security provided by Blockchain (BC), the interest in this technology is growing at an accelerated pace in different contexts, and support for aging is no exception.Security in this type of technologies rests, among other things, on Smart Contracts (SC), immutable decentralized programs for BC platforms that enforce, monitor and execute agreements, without the intervention of a trusted third party.Due to the variety of technologies and their particularities, the development of SCs is a complex process, since the architectural constraints of each platform must be considered.This paper presents a Model Driven Engineering (MDE) tool that automatically generates SCs using the Solidity programming language, in the context of a senior care process, for deployment on the Ethereum platform.This tool complements and serves as a starting point for the framework presented in (E.R. D. Villarreal, et al. 2023).For this purpose, an Ethereum SEPM Platform Specific Metamodel and a Model to Text Transformation to generate the SCs (SEP2Solidity) are presented (See the additional material in a public repository 1 ).As a proof of concept, a metamodel, a model and a deployed SC was generated and implemented, using the functionality assessment on the Elderly Nursing Core Set (ENCS) (M, Lopes.2013).The ENCS assesses quality of life in terms of functioning among ageing adults (based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF)).Method Our aim to contribute to the care of ageing people began with the identification of a problem (Dulce, E., Hurtado, J. 2021).We have analyzed the contributions that BC can have in the care of ageing people and identified shortcomings of BC technology, directly in the development of SC.In the literature review, we have analyzed the significant contributions that MDE technology can have to perform the specification and transformation of SC between different BC platforms.Based on MDE, we have created a 4-level architecture, where we have defined the real-world elements (M0), the models (M1) and the meta-models (M2) required for the whole MDE ecosystem (Figure 1).For the construction of the metamodel, we followed the interactive and iterative approach proposed in (N.Sanchez, 2022) this, allows the specification of model fragments by domain experts.These fragments can be annotated with descriptions about the intent or requirements of certain elements.A metamodel is automatically induced, which can be interactively refactored and then compiled into an implementation metamodel for different platforms and purposes.In our case for the Ethereum BC platform.The Eclipse Modelling Framework development environment was used (eCore as metamodel, Acceleo for m2t transformation) and also, Remix IDE was used for SC deployment.Results and Discussion With the metamodel created, the model of an SC for the ENCS administration was created, then, with the m2t transformation, the source code of the SC was generated.Remix was then used to implement and deploy the SC (deploy.docxfile in the supplementary material).The data obtained in Remix shows the successful deployment of the SC.Furthermore, the results indicate that our metamodel is able to generate: constructors, users, assets, global and local variables, primitive data types, functions, mappings, structures, events, among others, required in SCs for Ethereum BC platforms, preserving the syntax of the solidity.Likewise, our tool can contribute in the maturation and specification of SCs that support ageing care, directly in secure and privacy data management, e.g., ENCS, since ultimately the management of their data depends on well-structured SCs.Also, moving forward in our work, we will create this same scenario for other BC platforms and programming languages.This will enhance SC transformation between different BC platforms, contributing to the interoperability and security of this entire ecosystem.
Drawing upon the phrase âyou canât knock the hustleâ, attributed to both Jay Z and Sothebyâs, this chapter delves into the transformative dynamics shaping the creative sector in the era of digital tokens. It presents an exploratory reflection on the intersection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the creative industry, leveraging insights from research conducted by the author, who has worked at the boundaries of blockchain/cryptocurrency and sustainability since 2009. The chapter surveys the current manifestation of NFTs within the creative realm, shedding light on the economic facets intertwined with ongoing digital innovations. The chapter also broaches the topic of decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs), musing about their possible ramifications on traditional structures in creative industries. Without claiming to provide an exhaustive study, the chapter encourages contemplation on the role of NFTs and DAOs in the creative sphere. It touches upon their potential implications on economic systems, access to cultural institutions, and the funding of public goods such as education and civil infrastructure. Overall, the aim is to ignite dialogue and reflection among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers about the emerging intersections of technology, economics, and creativity. Moreover, this chapter invites reconsideration of established paradigms and the envisioning of new pathways for social and economic exchanges in light of these technological strides.
Blockchains implement decentralized monetary systems and applications. Recent advancements enable what we call tethering a blockchain to a primary blockchain, securing the tethered chain by nodes that post primary-chain tokens as collateral. The collateral ensures nodes behave as intended, until they withdraw it. Unlike a Proof of Stake blockchain which uses its own token as collateral, using primary-chain tokens shields the tethered chain from the volatility of its own token. State-of-the-art tethered blockchains either rely on centralization, or make extreme assumptions: that all communication is synchronous, that operators remain correct even post-withdrawal, or that withdrawals can be indefinitely delayed by tethered-chain failures. We prove that with partial synchrony, there is no solution to the problem. However, under the standard assumptions that communication with the primary chain is synchronous and communication among the tethered chain nodes is partially synchronous, there is a solution. We present a tethered-chain protocol called Aegis. Aegis uses references from its blocks to primary blocks to define committees, checkpoints on the primary chain to perpetuate decisions, and resets to establish new committees when previous ones become obsolete. It ensures safety at all times and rapid progress when latency among Aegis nodes is low.
The article closely reads a discussion paper by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog and a strategy paper by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) advocating non-financial use cases of blockchain in India. By noting the discursive shift from transparency to trust to adjustably transparent enacted in these two documents, and consequently the Indian state's redescription of blockchain, the paper foregrounds how blockchain systems are being designated as "decentral" but have recentralizing effects where the state reinvents and re-establishes itself as an intermediary. The paper illustrates how discursive shifts concerning trust, transparency, (de)centralization and (dis)intermediation are crucial sites for investigating redescriptions of emerging sociotechnical systems.