Launching Publius: first essays now live!
As part of the lead up to our Berkman@10 conference and gala (this Thursday and Friday!), we are pleased to announce the launch of a new project:
PUBLIUS (http://publius.cc)
Publius brings together a distinguished collection of Internet observers, scholars, innovators, entrepreneurs, activists, technologists, and still other experts to write short essays, foster a public dialogue, and create a durable record of how the rules of cyberspace are being formed -- with a view to affecting their future incarnations.
The first essays are now live:
- John Palfrey, Preface
- David Weinberger, Tacit Governance
- Esther Dyson, Governance - Tacit or Explicit?
- Kevin Werbach, Steering to the Edge of Trust
We take our inspiration and mode from the Federalist Papers, but our goal is to highlight a variety of perspectives on the evolutionary process of rule-making in cyberspace. The early American context and perspective is supplanted by our modern, global, and diverse experience. The notion of a singular constitutional moment is replaced by a vision of multiple forces shaping the structures that both open and constrict online spaces. Participants will reflect on the various elements of this loosely-joined architecture and consider how traditional understandings of regulation, control, and governance are manifested and constructed anew in cyberspace.
Today's initial batch of essays will be followed by perspectives from David Johnson and JP Rangaswami, Jonathan Zittrain and Susan Crawford, Kenn Cukier, Reed Hundt, and many more. In line with the questions driving our tenth anniversary conference and celebration, these essays will shine light on the still-fresh online constitutional issues -- particularly those related to control, human rights, identity, property, community, and democracy -- that will engage us long into the future. By collectively considering the future towards which we're traveling, we can map our priorities and identify opportunities for positive impact.
All of these essays are being published under a Creative Commons license to encourage remixing and broad dissemination. And our expectation is that the project will evolve organically, growing with each contribution and progressively uncovering additional relevant issues, worthwhile framings, and insightful perspectives. Please participate in this process by posting your opinions and reactions via the comments sections on the Publius site.