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Scientific Article details

Title The Blockchain and the Commons: Dilemmas in the Design of Local Platforms
ID_Doc 17708
Authors Cila, N; Fern, G; de Waal, M; Gloerich, I; Karpinski, T
Title The Blockchain and the Commons: Dilemmas in the Design of Local Platforms
Year 2020
Published
DOI 10.1145/3313831.3376660
Abstract This paper addresses the design dilemmas that arise when distributed ledger technologies (DLT) are to be applied in the governance of artificial material commons. DLTs, such as blockchain, are often presented as enabling technologies for self-governing communities, provided by their consensus mechanisms, transparent administration, and incentives for collaboration and cooperation. Yet, these affordances may also undermine public values such as privacy and displace human agency in governance procedures. In this paper, the conflicts regarding the governance of communities which collectively manage and produce a commons are discussed through the case of a fictional energy community. Three mechanisms are identified in this process: tracking use of and contributions to the commons; managing resources, and negotiating the underlying rule sets and user rights. Our effort is aimed at contributing to the HCI community by introducing a framework of three mechanisms and six design dilemmas that can aid in balancing conflicting values in the design of local platforms for commons-based resource management.
Author Keywords Blockchain; commons; governance; design dilemmas; platformization; energy community
Index Keywords Index Keywords
Document Type Other
Open Access Open Access
Source Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Science (CPCI-S)
EID WOS:000696109100129
WoS Category Computer Science, Cybernetics; Computer Science, Information Systems; Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications; Computer Science, Theory & Methods
Research Area Computer Science
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