3d printing and permissionless innovation (adam thierer march 2016)
TRANSCRIPT
3D Printing & “Permissionless Innovation”
Adam ThiererSenior Research FellowMercatus Center at George Mason University
March 2016
Presentation based on Mercatus book & research
Permissionless Innovation: The Continuing Case for Comprehensive
Technological Freedom
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www.permissionlessinnovation.org
Virtual / Aug. Reality
Future Tech Flashpoints
3-D Printing & Add. Manuf.
RoboticsSmart cars
Private dronesA.I.
Sharing Economy
CryptoBitcoin
Dark markets
Advanced Medical Tech.
Medical DevicesBiohacking
EmbeddablesGenetic issues
Mobile medical appsTelemedicine
Internet of Things
Wearable TechSmart HomesSmart Cities
Which Innovation Policy “Vision” ShouldGovern the Future of 3D Printing?
Permissionless Innovation or Precautionary Principle?
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“Permissionless Innovation”
= the general freedom to experiment & learn through trial-and-error.
– Be open to change, disruption, risk-taking & especially the possibility of failure.
– Avoid prior restraint.– Seek less restrictive alternatives to problems.
• The U.S. embraced this ethos & made it the basis of policy for the digital economy in the 1990s and beyond.
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In the old days, the Internet was “permissioned” (pre-1990s)
This warning to students appeared in a 1982 MIT handbook for the use of ARPAnet, the progenitor of what would become the Internet:
“It is considered illegal to use the ARPAnet for anything which is not in direct support of government business... Sending electronic mail over the ARPAnet for commercial profit or political purposes is both anti-social and illegal. By sending such messages, you can offend many people, and it is possible to get MIT in serious trouble with the government agencies which manage the ARPAnet.”
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What Changed? We opened the Net & digital revolution took off
• early 1990s: commercial opening of the Net• 1997: Clinton admin. adopted “light touch” approach with
the Framework for Global Electronic Commerce (1997)1. “the private sector should lead. The Internet should develop as a
market driven arena not a regulated industry.”2. “governments should avoid undue restrictions on electronic
commerce” & “parties should be able to enter into legitimate agreements to buy and sell products and services across the Internet with minimal government involvement or intervention.”
3. “where governmental involvement is needed,” the Framework continued, “its aim should be to support and enforce a predictable, minimalist, consistent and simple legal environment for commerce.”
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The rest is history• Permissionless innovation has driven the
explosion of Internet entreprenuerialism over past 2 decades.
• Nobody needed a license or permission to launch the great technological innovations of the digital age.
• Became a powerful driver of U.S. tech competitiveness.
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How Did All This
Develop So Quickly?
How Did U.S. Become Global Digital Innovation Leader?
10Source: Booz & Company
• 9 of the top 10 most innovative global companies are based in U.S.
• Majority are involved in computing, software & digital technology
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Where Are Europe’s Tech Innovators?
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How Did This US-EU Tech Imbalance Develop?
Source: Alberto Onetti, Mind the Bridge Foundation
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US-EU Tech Imbalance (cont.)
• Facebook’s market cap is twice as large as every billion dollar tech company in Europe combined.
• Airbnb is larger than all of Germany’s
How Can Consumers Have Access to All These at This Price!
But What about the Risks? (or, Why Some Still Favor
“Precautionary Principle” Policies)
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The “Precautionary Principle”
= Crafting public policies to control or limit new innovations until their creators can prove that they won’t cause any harms.
– “better to be safe than sorry” mentality – preemptive regulation– it is the antithesis of permissionless innovation
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1. Privacy / Psychological • reputation issues, fear of “profiling” & “discrimination”• amorphous psychological / cognitive harms
2. Safety • Health & physical safety, child safety
3. Security • Hacking, cybersecurity, law enforcement issues
4. Economic • Automation, job dislocation, sectoral disruptions
5. Intellectual Property
Concerns Driving Calls for Precautionary Tech Regulation
The Conflict of Visions over Innovation Policy
Precautionary Principle
Permissionless Innovation
Innovation must be carefully guided should be free-wheeling
Priority Stability / equilibrium Spontaneity / experimentation
Risk risk anticipation is preferred risk adaptation is preferred
Solutions Preemptive (ex ante)top-down controls/solutions
Reactive (ex post)bottom-up remedies
Presumption Innovators must ask, “Mother, May I?”
Innovators are “innocent until proven guilty”
Ethos “Better to be safe than sorry” “Nothing ventured, nothing gained”
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The Precautionary Principle vs. Permissionless InnovationA Range of Responses to Technological Risk
ProhibitionCensorship
Info suppression Product bans
Anticipatory Regulation
Administrative mandatesRestrictive defaults Licensing & permitsIndustry guidance
ResiliencyEducation & Media Literacy
Labeling / TransparencyUser empowerment
Self-regulation
AdaptationExperience / Experiments
Learning / CopingSocial norms & pressure
Top-down Solutions
Bottom-up Solutions
Precautionary Principle
Permissionless Innovation
General problem with“permissioning” innovation
If we spend all our time living in constant fear of worst-case scenarios—and premising public
policy upon such fears—it means that best-case scenarios will never come about.
Wisdom and progress are born from experience, including experiences that involve risk and the possibility of occasional mistakes and failures.
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When Does Precaution Make Sense?
… but most 3D printing cases aren’t like this.
What’s good for cyberspace is good for meatspace
We need same general policy approach to other sectors and technologies,
whether based on bits (digital economy) or atoms (industrial economy).
Our policy default should be Innovation Allowed
… and that includes 3D printing!
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But again, what about potential risks?
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1. Privacy / Psychological 2. Safety 3. Security 4. Economic 5. Intellectual Property
Recall the Concerns Driving Calls for Precautionary Tech Regulation
Key Policy Issues for
3D Printing
Policy Case Studies
Firearms
Toys & Sculptures Medical devices
Regulation could prove challenging
How to control 3D-printed guns, medical devices, and reproductions? • Regulate blueprints? (Speech controls are
hard & raise First Amendment issues)• License devices? (General-purpose tech hard
to control + already too diffuse?)• Control inputs? (It’s plastics and glue!)
What would a permissionless innovation policy for 3D printing look like?
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Permissionless Innovation Policy Blueprint1. Articulate and defend permissionless innovation as the general policy
default.2. Identify and remove barriers to entry and innovation.3. Protect freedom of speech and expression.4. Retain and expand immunities for intermediaries from liability associated
with third-party uses.5. Rely on existing legal solutions and the common law to solve problems.6. Wait for insurance markets and competitive responses to develop.7. Push for industry self-regulation and best practices.8. Promote education and empowerment solutions and be patient as social
norms evolve to solve challenges.9. Adopt targeted, limited legal measures for truly hard problems.10.Evaluate and reevaluate policy decisions to ensure they pass a strict
benefit-cost analysis.
Do we need a “Section 230 for the Maker Movement”?
• excessive litigation can have chilling effect on life-enriching innovation
• might need to immunize some platform providers (ex: Shapeways or Thingiverse) or device manufacturers from punishing forms of liability
• they should be immunized from liability associated with the ways third-parties use their platforms or devices to speak, experiment, or innovate
Three Immunity Models
• Section 230 (47 U.S.C. § 230) • Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of
2005 • National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986
(The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program)
Education & best practices will become essential
• Are we talking to innovators (and our kids) about responsible uses of 3D printing?
• “Digital citizenship” & risk education efforts needed• private codes of conduct or “best practice” guidance
for developers – third-party certification and accreditation of devices or
their standards?– corporate labeling and transparency efforts?– consumer education
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The Precautionary Principle vs. Permissionless InnovationA Range of Responses to Technological Risk
ProhibitionCensorship
Info suppression Product bans
Anticipatory Regulation
Administrative mandatesRestrictive defaults Licensing & permitsIndustry guidance
ResiliencyEducation & Media Literacy
Labeling / TransparencyUser empowerment
Self-regulation
AdaptationExperience / Experiments
Learning / CopingSocial norms & pressure
Top-down Solutions
Bottom-up Solutions
Precautionary Principle
Permissionless Innovation