The Computer in the Sky
Tue 10/15/2024 • 1PM - 2:30PM PDT
Charles E. Young Library Main Conference Room, 11360
Presented by the UCLA Library and the Jacob Marschak Interdisciplinary Colloquium on Mathematics in the Behavioral Sciences
Speaker: Tim Roughgarden, Professor of Computer Science at Columbia University
Turing-complete blockchain protocols such as Ethereum approximate the idealized abstraction of a shared "computer in the sky" that is open access (anyone can install software or interact with already-installed software), runs in plain view, and, in effect, has no owner or operator.
This technology can, among other things, enable stronger notions of ownership of digital possessions than we have ever had before. Building the computer in the sky is hard (and scientifically fascinating), and requires the synthesis of multiple disciplines, both within computer science (distributed computing, cryptography, algorithmic game theory) and beyond (mechanism design, macroeconomics, finance, political science).
This talk will survey some of Tim Roughgarden’s work in the area and the practical impact it has had.