This space is hosted by Giveth
Space Summary
The Twitter space highlighted the critical role of legal frameworks as public goods and the transformative impact of smart contracts on traditional legal practices like escrow. Legal engineering, merging law and technology, was underscored for enhancing legal processes' efficiency. The importance of community support, open collaboration, and sponsor contributions in advancing public goods and fostering innovation was emphasized. Participants were encouraged to donate, advocate for public goods, and support open-source projects to contribute to a fairer and more robust societal structure. The discussion concluded with a call for continued support of accessible and automated legal frameworks through open-source initiatives.
Questions
Q: What is the primary focus of the discussion?
A: The importance of legal frameworks as public goods and the role of automation through smart contracts.
Q: How are smart contracts changing traditional legal practices?
A: They are making processes like escrow more efficient and cost-effective.
Q: Why is community support vital in this context?
A: It fuels innovation and helps scale projects that benefit society as a whole.
Q: What role do sponsors play in these initiatives?
A: Sponsors help increase the matching pool and support the scale and impact of projects.
Q: How can individuals contribute to these projects?
A: By making donations and supporting open-source initiatives.
Q: What is legal engineering?
A: A field that combines law and technology to automate and enhance legal processes.
Q: Why should law be considered a public good?
A: Because accessible legal frameworks ensure a fair and robust societal structure.
Q: What is the impact of automating legal processes?
A: It reduces costs and makes legal services more accessible.
Q: How does advocacy for public goods affect societal frameworks?
A: It promotes stronger and more equitable societal structures.
Q: What is the importance of open-source contributions in this field?
A: They drive innovation and ensure that the benefits of new technologies are widely accessible.
Highlights
Time: 00:02:12
Introduction to Legal Engineering
Time: 00:05:22
The Role of Smart Contracts
Time: 00:15:43
Community and Collaboration
Time: 00:25:58
Donations to Support Projects
Time: 00:35:10
Sponsor Contributions
Time: 00:45:25
Legal Frameworks as Public Goods
Time: 00:55:34
The Future of Legal Engineering
Time: 01:05:48
Automation in Legal Processes
Time: 01:15:20
Encouraging Open-Source Contributions
Time: 01:25:40
Wrap-Up and Key Messages
Key Takeaways
- Legal frameworks should be considered public goods for societal benefit.
- Smart contracts are revolutionizing traditional legal processes such as escrow.
- Community support and open collaboration are vital for innovation.
- Accessible and automated legal structures contribute to thriving ecosystems.
- Advocating for public goods strengthens societal frameworks.
- Encouraging donations supports open-source projects and innovations.
- Legal engineering merges law and technology for enhanced legal processes.
- Automation in legal procedures reduces costs and enhances efficiency.
- Sponsors play a key role in scaling project impact.
- Continuous advocacy for public goods in the legal sector is essential.
Behind the Mic
Hi, everyone. My name is Monstrosity. I'm here from the Bankless DAO, and I'll be the host for today's AMA with Gitcoin. I'm really excited for today's conversation, and I think we'll have a lot of fun. Thanks for joining, and let's get started. I would love for everyone just to share a little more about themselves. Hi. I'm Scott. Funny t-shirts on Twitter. DA. I work on some memes in my spare time. Most of my time goes to public goods and Gitcoin. I'm currently leading up a work stream on Gitcoin called FDD, fraud defense and detection. I'm happy to be here and talking to you all. Sweet to have you. Looks like Kevin's next. Hey, everybody. I'm Kevin O'Walky. I'm the founder of Gitcoin. I've been doing Gitcoin for five years. My background is in computer science and open source, and really excited to be here. Thanks for having me. Cool. Next up is Annika. Hello, friends. I'm Annika. I'm a member of the Gitcoin team. I work on Moonshot Collective, which is doing R&D for public goods funding and excited to be here. Thanks for joining. And last but not least is Kevin Olson. Yeah, hey, everyone. My name is Kevin Olson. I've been with Gitcoin about two and a half years. I mainly help run the product work stream. So excited to be a part of this. Hi, all. Cool. Thanks, everyone. I think just to start off, I'd love for everyone to just share how they got involved with Gitcoin and what it is about crypto in general. That really inspires them and makes them passionate. Kevin Olson, since you just went, maybe you could kick it off first. Cool. Yeah, sure. I guess I first got involved when I was moving away from my last role in the Web2 space. And I was like, hey, Web3 is really cool. What can I do here? And got connected with Kevin Walky and thought the mission was really awesome at Gitcoin. So I decided to join. And then, yeah, it feels like I've been here ever since, pretty much. And I feel like I'm continuing to do awesome stuff. And excited to be here, like I said. Excited to chat more. And Annika, how about you? Yeah, happy to jump in. I have been involved in crypto web3 since 2017. I worked at ConsenSys for quite a while. I worked at ConsenSys Academy, ConsenSys Health, MetaMask a little bit. And then I joined Gitcoin in April this year. And yeah, really fired up about the mission, Gitcoin's mission of funding public goods. And fun fact, the next Gitcoin grant starts tomorrow. So if you see me running around like a chicken with my head cut off, now you know why. Good luck with that first day. I hope it goes really well. Thanks. And we have a bunch of questions from the community to get to and then some that I've written as well. So I think a good place to start, Scott, I'd love to hear more about what you're working on with FDD. It seems like a really interesting problem space and I'd just love to hear the background. Yeah, sure. I'll try to be brief. I'm a little long-winded. So FDD stands for Fraud Defense and Detection. And the general thought there is that if we're going to be creating decentralized protocols for distributing money at scale, we need novel ways of keeping them anti-fraud, anti-sybil. We're doing things that are adversarial networks where the incentive is to extract money. And so we're constantly optimizing these defenses and detections. And to be honest, I kind of think that it shares some of the most ethos with Web3, where we're randomly driven by the community for the community. We're just auditing ourselves and constantly externally auditing ourselves. And I think that's super awesome and checking out how that can fit into other decentralized protocol patterns in the long run. It's great to hear the community working together like that. It's super inspiring. Actually, on that note, Kevin Walky, you mentioned you're passionate about public goods. How did you get into that and what keeps you motivated? Yeah, sure. So I'm a software engineer by trade. So initially, I got interested in web development just to build cool things and get them out there. It was working in the web2 space, building a bunch of different projects. But increasingly, I started getting into open source and recognizing the value of these public goods that everyone can use. That led me down this path of thinking about how we can fund public goods. And long story short, that's how Gitcoin was born in 2017 out of my basement. And now, five years later, we're still trying to create meaningful ways to fund open source work and other digital public goods. And on that topic about public goods, Annika, would you mind introducing Moonshot Collective and telling us a bit more about what you're working on? Absolutely. Moonshot Collective is a team within Gitcoin that focuses on creating experimental dApps and protocols to help find new ways of funding public goods. So we're almost like a small R&D lab or a skunkworks team. We're constantly trying out new ideas, building in public, collaborating with the community principles of Web3 ingrained in what we do. The hope is that we can pioneer new ways of funding public goods and allow for more sustainability in open source development and beyond. We need as much of that experimental mindset in the space as possible. So it's crucial work you all are doing. Thanks for sharing. So with all that shared, let me just get a bit more granular now. For Kevin Walky, one question that comes up a lot is how do you ensure the longevity and sustainability of Gitcoin's mission, especially in a space that changes as rapidly as Web3? Yeah, that's a great question. So one thing that I'll highlight is our emphasis on decentralization and community governance. So we're really experimenting a lot with DAOs, distributing the ownership of Gitcoin itself to the community. We believe that it's critical to distribute ownership as much as possible in the hopes that our community can act as a strong shield against the ever-changing tides in the crypto landscape. Also, we're continually innovating. We're always finding new ways to create reliable revenue streams and ensure a steady flow of funds towards our primary mission. On that note of innovation, Scott, how does FDD play a role in evolving with the threats and the fraud tactics that you see regularly? Yeah, really, FDD has to be built with a certain level of agility in mind. The moment you have a static defense mechanism, the adversaries will quickly iterate and eventually bypass it. So the core of what we do is really about continuous improvement and collaboration within the community. FDD constantly interfaces with other web3 projects to see how they're dealing with these issues and integrates that collective knowledge. That's why I think it's as much about the tech as it is about the community supporting it. It requires this rapid iteration loop where we're validating and invalidating our, we call them fraud defense hypothesis, and then adjusting accordingly. The tighter we can make that loop, the more resilient we become. Absolutely agree. In fact, speaking of community collaboration, Annika, can you share some stories or examples of how the Moonshot Collective has worked alongside other projects or community members to push the mission forward? Yeah, for sure. I'd be happy to. One quick highlight I can share is a collaboration we did with CLR.fund. They're another funding mechanism for public goods that's doing great work. We joined forces with them on a prototype to explore how quadratic funding, the mechanism that Gitcoin uses, could be automated and done through smart contracts. We were able to leverage some of their expertise in contract development and merge that with the UI/UX capabilities we had internally. The end result was a more streamlined version of our core funding mechanism. And it's been really exciting to see that come together. We genuinely believe that building together as a community is the way forward, and this collaboration underscored that for us. It's amazing what can be achieved when communities come together. Kevin Olson, would you say this collaborative spirit is a major factor in what makes Gitcoin successful? Yeah, definitely. I mean, there's no way we'd be where we are without the support of so many different people and teams in the community. It goes back to this idea of public goods being by the people, for the people. At Gitcoin, we're constantly working with everyone from individual devs to entire organizations to push forward and find new solutions. The diversity of thought and experience that those partnerships bring is invaluable. The more we leverage that, the stronger and more resilient our efforts become. Alright, let's shift gears a bit. One thing I'm curious about is some of the major challenges you've all faced in the operationalizing of DAOs within Gitcoin. It sounds complex. Kevin Walky, maybe you could start with this one? Sure. So the creation and maintenance of decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs, is definitely a complex beast. One of our biggest challenges is governance—trying to find a balance between having effective decision-making processes and keeping things decentralized. We're constantly iterating on our governance models, exploring different ways to enable meaningful contributions while not getting bogged down in bureaucracy. And it also requires a cultural shift, like moving from a top-down decision-making process to one that's community-driven. It can be tough, but incredibly rewarding when you see it working. Absolutely, cultivating the right culture is key. Scott, as part of FDD, would you say this shift impacts the defensive measures or the security protocols you put in place as well? Yeah, for sure. Speaking from an FDD perspective, the decentralized model adds another layer of complexity because you don't just have a centralized team making decisions about fraud prevention. Instead, we have to ensure that the community members themselves understand the principles and mechanisms behind what we're doing, which forces us to be more transparent and communicative. But honestly, in the long run, I think it benefits us because it means that our defenses are scrutinized from multiple angles, making them more robust. It's a continuous learning process. Kevin Olson, what are some of the innovative products and solutions that you think will come out of these decentralized models? Any hints at what's on the horizon? Sure, I'd be happy to talk about some things we're excited about. One thing we're really looking at is how to integrate more advanced staking mechanisms into our funding models. We think there's a lot of untapped potential there to create new incentives and more robust funding structures. Another thing is privacy-preserving mechanisms. In a fully decentralized world, maintaining user privacy while ensuring transparency is a tough nut to crack, but we're working hard on it. And I think you'll see some pretty cool stuff coming out in those areas soon. That's really exciting to hear. Annika, anything you can add about what's next for Moonshot Collective? Absolutely. We're diving deep into a few areas. One is experimenting with novel ways to fund public goods using NFTs. The idea is to seamlessly integrate NFTs into the funding process, leveraging their popularity to get more eyes and more funds on public goods projects. Another area is decentralized identity. We're working on ways to create more robust identity solutions that can protect users' privacy while still enabling accountability and verifiability in the ecosystem. We truly believe these innovations can further drive the mission of funding and supporting public goods. Alright, shifting topics a bit. How do you guys view the evolution of public goods funding in the next 5-10 years? What are some of the big picture trends you anticipate? Kevin Walky, maybe you could start us off? Sure thing. In my view, the space is just going to keep growing. I think we'll see a lot more sophisticated funding mechanisms that leverage the unique capabilities of blockchain technology. For example, mechanisms that can more precisely measure the impact and outcomes of the funds distributed. I think we'll also see more collaboration between different public goods platforms, creating a more interconnected and resilient ecosystem. And I hope mainstream adoption continues to accelerate as people realize the value of funding public goods in a way that's transparent, efficient, and that benefits everyone. Scott, your thoughts? Yeah, I agree with Kevin. I think there's going to be a movement towards more automation and integration. We'll see smart contracts handling more of the decision-making processes, and we'll see interoperability between platforms becoming the norm. Also, I think the concept of plural funding will evolve and gain traction. This idea that funding doesn't have to be a zero-sum game, that multiple fundraising mechanisms can coexist and complement each other. I think that's going to be huge. And finally, Annika, how about you? I think community ownership and governance will take center stage. More and more, we're going to see communities not just as beneficiaries of public goods but as stewards and decision-makers. It's about empowering people to have a real say in how these resources are allocated and managed. I also think we'll see more innovation in terms of incentives. How do we reward people for contributing to public goods? That's an area ripe for experimentation and growth. Thank you all for sharing your insights. This has been super enlightening. I hope everyone else here found it valuable as well. Before we wrap up, any final thoughts or messages you want to leave the community with? Kevin Walky, maybe you could start? Sure. Just a huge thank you to everyone who supports and contributes to public goods. It's a community effort, and we couldn't do it without you. Let's keep pushing forward, innovating, and making a positive impact together. Awesome. Scott? Yeah, echoing what Kevin said, thank you all. Keep being awesome, keep contributing, and let's keep building this future together. Annika? Stay excited, stay passionate, and remember that every little bit counts. Let's keep fighting for a better, fairer world. Kevin Olson, any last words? Just a big thank you to everyone here. Your support and participation mean everything. Let's keep going. Fantastic. Thanks again to all of our speakers today, and thank you to the community for joining us. Have a great day everyone."
