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title: Pre-project MIT IAP Computational Law Course Jan. 2021
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MIT IAP Computational Law Course Jan. 2021 - suggestion pre-project

This is a short suggestion to respond to Dazza & Bryan's friendly incitement for coming up with projects, and with ideas flow in chat.

Question for decisions: should I produce a very small note for starters, should I post a few of such ideas in the chat?

I'm in the early stage of plotting a (non-legal studies) thesis topic that nonetheless operates at the intersection of Computational Law and Space Law. Once the topic is approved during this Winter, the thesis should be completed by late Spring 2021.

But because deliverable(s) - a 15,000 concise thesis paper by rule, not the common 30,000+ words)- won't exist by Session 4 / 29 January 2021, I haven't proposed this as a project to MIT IAP CL Course, since it doesn't fit the immediate timing.

However, because this is an effort on the long run, to generate several papers and projects, I might as well suggest to start with a brief note (pre-project) and take it from there, in a separate format or parallel track, if this is something that might interest you.

I have a longstanding interests in three parallel tracks:

-1- New Space Business - Space Law & Astropolitik (3 decades), reason why seeing Session 4 was a rather pleasant surprise indeed.
-2- Digital transformation IoT AI etc (1 decade) converging with blockchain-DLT / cryptoassets / decentralization (half-decade)
-3- Computational Law, first via Stanford CodeX (half decade) then now according to MIT Computational Law (1/3 decade since Fall 2018)

Because this Thesis/Project topic proposal is a requirement for an on-going MSc in digital currency and blockchain with the University of Nicosia, Cyprus (and my 4th masters program in 35 years),

I look at the relevance of decentralized governance architectures, at meaningful intersections of above 3 tracks:

Decentralized governance architectures as enablers of human-machine expansion in the Solar System

by creating

A convergence framework for Business/ Legal/ Technological/ constructs at the intersection of Computational Law and Space Law.

In a nutshell, using a 3-layered approach macro (world & socio-economic systems), meso (smart-space-village requirements, property & human rights (gravity, radiations, grid), societal coordination, collective intelligence and governance by staking, etc), and micro (goals and architecturing we always discuss in our channels), I woukd zero-in on a number of issues in the "Earth - cis-lunar - Moon" integrated socio-economic & logistics space, as priority expansion target, for primary lessons applicable to the rest of the Solar System expanse, such as mining/manufacturing settlements on Mars and the Belt.

This might also be a trial balloon for more permanent research directions at the intersection of Computational Law and Space Law.

There is a non-marginal probability CompL+SpaceL may become a dominant framework for Earth Space powers competing in the Solar System. Having lived 3/4 of the last 35 years in the Indo-Pacific region, with a concentration on Japan/ S-Korea/ China/ S'pore, working globally, a discussion I'm interested in, is that balancing act between peaceful cooperation and realist competition, that has also direct implications for the defense & security aspect of Law.

Of course that's assuming that we still evolve within a pattern of both nation-states and corporate interests ambitions, but I do not see this vanishing any time soon. Even a more global, integrated planetary governance that would better internalize New Space for its socio-economic promises, would still start from a place of competing nation-states and corporations.

Hence the crucial role of property and security (defense) laws as part of Space Law aided by the possibly self-enforcing nature of Computational Law. Which is all there is to it, if you consider Space as a maritime medium (see Mahan et al. for naval geopolitics), also popularized by the interestingly plausible model of naval expansion in the series The Expanse, as compared with the more idealistic and federalist Star Trek of then and now... ;-)