Distributed Ledger Technologies and Social Machines: How to “Smartify” the Economy with Blockchain-based Digital Extension Services?

Abstract

This paper examines the broad impact of digitalization on economic development. More specifically, it addresses the computer science-derived notion of “social machines”, along with the invention of distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) (or blockchain), as potential signposts on the pathway to “smart(er) digital economies”. The paper investigates blockchain-based ecosystems as examples of social machines that assist in economic “smartification” and development. It looks at distributed ledger-based communities (DLCs) that provide examples of functioning social machines for a variety of business and personal network communications purposes. It then analyses the scaleup of DLT-based social machines by comparison with “extension services”, largely in education and agriculture, which are currently undergoing processes of digitalization. Overall, this conceptual study examines the general horizons and potential impact of blockchain and social machines on the provision of online products and services, across a range of sectors and industries. The paper offers interpretative assistance to managers, entrepreneurs, technology experts, and academics with lingering questions about blockchain in and for business and economic development.