Sustainable Digital Ecology

In the era of Big Data there is danger that the economic environment will be dominated by those with the biggest computers and most access to consumer personal data. This is not just an economic worry; the scandal surrounding the US National Security Agency shows that similar dangers exist with governments. Moreover, an ecology with such winner-take-all dynamics is likely to be unstable, with severe booms and busts. This project investigates alternate architectures for a digital ecology that are more sustainable, such as moving from completely open market mechanisms to cooperative exchange network mechanisms. Examples of such exchange networks include the SWIFT interbank exchange network or the Hawala networks in the Middle East.