Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

Daily Archives: March 11, 2018

What Really Is Blockchain and Why Does It Matter to Lawyers?

Via Artificial Lawyer – What Really is Blockchain and Why Does it Matter to Lawyers? “Blockchain. It seems that in a blink of an eye the entire technology world is tilting on its axis with talk of distributed ledgers, cryptocurrencies, ICOs (initial coin offerings), and smart contracts. But what is blockchain, and why might it matter to the legal industry? In October 2008, a white paper was authored by Satoshi Nakamoto with the title, ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System‘. To this day, the actual identity of Nakamoto is unknown, but the current ecosystem of blockchains and their related cryptocurrencies, now worth nearly half a trillion dollars, owes its start to that white paper. The significance of Bitcoin is that its software design solved what is known as the “double spend problem” of digital currency, without involving intermediaries such as banks. In layman’s terms, what this means that, absent special technology, there is nothing to prevent someone from infinitely duplicating digital currency (which is just data). By contrast, if a customer were to take a physical twenty-dollar bill into a store and make a purchase, the customer must hand it to the clerk in exchange for the goods. The store now possesses that paper note, and the customer cannot spend it again. Because we trust the uniqueness of the paper note and the difficulty in duplicating it, we trust that it can store value…” [David Fisher is the founder of Integra Ledger, ‘the blockchain for law’, as well as a co-founder of the Global Legal Blockchain Consortium]

Harvard Law Review – Presidential Control Over International Law

Presidential Control Over International Law. 131 Harv. L. Rev. 1201. Mar 9, 2018. Article by Curtis A. Bradley & Jack L. Goldsmith “Presidents have come to dominate the making, interpretation, and termination of international law for the United States. Often without specific congressional concurrence, and sometimes even when it is likely that Congress would disagree,… Continue Reading

Report – Bias in Online Classes: Evidence from a Field Experiment

Bias in Online Classes: Evidence from a Field Experiment – Center for Education Policy Analysis at Stanford – Rachel Baker of the University of California, Irvine; Thomas Dee of Stanford; Brent Evans of Vanderbilt University; and June John of Stanford: “While online learning environments are increasingly common, relatively little is known about issues of equity… Continue Reading

Harry Potter: A History of Magic Explore the wonders of the British Library exhibition

Harry Potter: A History of Magic – Explore the wonders of the British Library exhibition: Online exhibits; Artwork and artifacts; Articles; Videos. The Enduring Magic of The “Harry Potter Effect” 20 Years Later – Bloomsbury Children’s Books publishing director, Rebecca McNally talks about the power the series still has Continue Reading

My Simpleshow

“My Simpleshow is a tool for building short “explainer” videos. It includes a number of template storylines that users can select as a starting point. For example, their educational templates include “explain a mathematical formula,” “interpret literature,” “introduce a biological process,” and others. There are also professional storylines (like “introduce your startup”) and personal storylines… Continue Reading

University Libraries launches framework for digital literacy

Virginia Tech News: “Taking action and being active in the digital world involves understanding and effectively using a variety of online resources. To help the campus community and beyond be better equipped to do this, the Virginia Tech University Libraries, with partners from across campus, launched a framework to enhance digital literacy as part of… Continue Reading

Forbes – The Billionaires 2018

Meet The Members Of The Three-Comma Club “Capitalism’s global conquest continues as entrepreneurs around the globe mint fortunes in everything from cryptocurrencies to telecom to bridal dresses. Forbes has pinned down a record 2,208 billionaires from 72 countries and territories including the first ever from Hungary and Zimbabwe. This elite group is worth $9.1 trillion,… Continue Reading

Misinformation Overload

Article by John Hubbard – Librarian at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee – March 9, 2017. Misinformation Overload. “We live in uncertain times. With big data and a boom in our ability to transmit ideas comes a seemingly greater amount of erroneous information, and therefore the need for everyone to be able to properly identify, discredit, and… Continue Reading