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Building the Justice Layer of the Internet to preserve Human Rights
Cyberspace has no governing law, but cybercrime is costing trillions of dollars each year. Using the same tools that cybercriminals use, and more, we can reclaim cyberspace and do good and create markets of digital inclusion for peripheralized youth which will help eradicate poverty. Our current projects are in Zambia and Jordan (working with homeless […]
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THE INTERNET IS DEAD AND DANGEROUS. AND WE STILL USE IT.
Part 1. A history. Can laws protect us? The internet as we know it is dead. You can no longer trust the internet to be a trustworthy communications platform. Worse, it has become an almost impenetrable safe haven for very smart terrorists, criminals, rogue actors who have built global enterprises which threaten the very fabric […]
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Blockchain explained by a 15-year-old
This short five minute read should make clear to any lawyer that the new era of smart contracts is here. With a very short introduction of current definitions of blockchain, followed by a 15 year old’s interpretation and example, it’s easy to see how quickly the world of law is about to change. The conclusion points to NFTs as the leading edge for bringing smart contracts into the mainstream.
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How to Fix Democracy Series
The Bertelsmann Foundation is running a series of programs on How to Fix Democracy. As Democracy depends upon people who care, believe and respect the rule of law which is the source of democracy, engaged citizens are a must. In this show, Digital Democracy and Citizen Engagement | Wietse Van Ransbeeck who is the Co-Founder […]
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Legal World Will Forever Change Because of the Blockchain
Technology innovation constantly challenges law to meet the needs of today’s society. If we rely solely on law to solve the problems of refugees, justice will be delayed. Why? With the refugee crisis reaching a feverish level in the United States, laws are aspirational from the refugees’ point of view, and US […]
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Partnering with the World
On May 31, I spoke at USIP on how our PeaceTones music projects use innovation in the ways we make and enforce laws to help musicians in the developing worlds earn money from themselves and their communities. (See powerpoint slides.) PeaceTones runs programs which teach Intellectual Property laws in the developing world to gifted and […]
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Nigeria and Online Dispute Resolution
One of the earliest letters I received from Nigeria (before the Internet – postage/envelope/letter inside/a “real” signature) invited me to help out an individual there who was a relative of a prince and had a very substantial bank account in New York, but they could not access the funds there (millions of dollars) without my […]
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Waking Up
Two weeks off, and a trip to visit Machupicchu is coming up. It’s a time to stop and take stock. After all, it’s been ten years since I started IBO and at times it has seemed almost mind numbing. Like usual, I gathered some reading materials before leaving Houston. THE INNOVATORS by Walter Isaacson, STARTING […]
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Why We Founded the ABA TECHSHOW – Technology and the Transformation of Law
When I first worked with Don Hagans and Bruce Jaster from Texas and several others in 1986 to help develop the inaugural ABA TECHSHOW, the idea of using computers in the practice of law was at its complete inception. At the time, I had already started the Computer College in Massachusetts as chair of the […]
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Shaping the Rule of Law, Trust And Resolution in The Online Justice System
I was recently published on The Huffington Post examining the concept of trusted online communities, online identity and the shaping a global democracy online. The chance to establish norms for justice over the Internet that transcend international boundaries is something the world, and the legal community in particular, can drive to secure rights both on and offline: […]