The United Chains of Bitland

Is it possible for AI to govern future governments? Can they be co-governed with humans and AI?

Hi, Fellow Explorers!

I’m working on my next Frontier Letter and figured I would pass along preliminary thoughts as I work my way through the next piece!

Here are some unfiltered thoughts regarding the topic of my next letter.

I hope you enjoy the content!

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Is it possible for AI to govern future governments? Or co-governed with humans and AI?

Determining the best way to structure ourselves in human society to maximize the well-being of everyone is an unsolved problem that has existed since the beginning of our species. Like other technological revolutions, there will be many aspects of our world fundamentally different from what previously existed, and I think one of those will be governments.

Blockchain will play a significant role in this transition, and AI will as well. AI will need blockchain to operate within a given governance structure so that the systems are not co-opted.

I imagine a world where anyone can start a government, similar to a startup company today. Balaji Srinivasan has deeply explored this idea in his book The Network State, and current network states exist.

Blockchain makes it possible to have near-perfect certainty that the digital operations of the system and the decisions made on the said system are agreed upon by the entire user base of that system (this, of course, depends on the consensus mechanism at play). This opens a world of possibility in governing that was not previously available in the digital world and is seemingly impossible to do at scale in the physical world.

An individual can start a network state with its own constitution, operating model, branches, policies, etc. The more sophisticated computer systems get, the more these rules can become embedded in code and difficult to corrupt. Moreover, through DiDs, every individual in the system can be issued a 'passport token' representing their citizenship on the chain. One passport token can = one vote. This is where the operating model and parameters of the government system can be highly customized, such as the ability to delegate your passport token vote to someone you trust to vote on your behalf. People may vote directly on proposed bills.

This is where the future of governance becomes extraordinarily exciting. These digital network states allow us to experiment with governance models to discover what makes humans thrive the most in a society. If they work well, the network state can start purchasing land and marking their place in the world.

AI can be delegated specific tasks, a minimal amount to start, and can execute their duty in the system. Over time, once we can fully trust the AI, it's possible to slowly start to perform certain functions of this government that maximize human wellbeing and thriving.

I'm not sure what the right structure of a government is. All I know is that society thrives where we maximize human individuality and autonomy, and we've seen this to a great degree with the American experiment. While not perfect (none are), it has arguably created some of the best innovations and possibilities for the individual. At the heart of a government, the individual must be recognized as born with a "divine right," as in the U.S.

In the next Frontier Letter, I want to answer the question: Can we govern our societies using a blockchain? If so, what is the optimal architecture of blockchain governance?

In answering this, I will explore what blockchain is doing for governance, the opinion on its utility from formidable industry figures, and how I would structure a government on a blockchain if I were to create one!

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Please provide resources if you have some good information on the below topics:

• Governance in general

• Blockchain Governance

• Blockchain DAO experiments that seem to be working

• The use of AI in government

Happy Wednesday!

I hope everyone's having a great week so far!