[en] This fundamentals article discusses efficient machine economies in which non-human agents can autonomously exchange information and value. We first identify criteria for achieving Pareto efficiency in such economies by drawing on the Coase Theorem. We then translate these economic criteria to technical requirements before developing a framework that characterizes four types of machine economies. We discuss real-life examples for each type to highlight key challenges in achieving Pareto efficiency. In particular, we highlight that machine economies with human involvement in economic interactions and governance face significant challenges regarding perfect information, rationality, and transaction costs. Machine economies without human involvement, in turn, promise a high degree of Pareto efficiency, but there are still many open questions, particularly regarding machine-enforced governance. We conclude with opportunities for future research on the interactions and governance in machine economies.
Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
FnR ; FNR13342933 > Gilbert Fridgen > DFS > Paypal-fnr Pearl Chair In Digital Financial Services > 01/01/2020 > 31/12/2024 > 2019