# Human backstop

`kaal:entity:human-backstop`

**Status.** derived

This node is assembled mechanically from the 6 claims that carry the concept tag `human-backstop`. It is a roster of what the corpus says under this term. It is **not** an adjudicated definition: no single statement here has been ruled canonical, and no first-appearance call has been made. Read the claims and judge for yourself.

## Every claim under this term

6 claims across 4 works, 2019 to 2021.

**2019**

- [3373393-037](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3373393-037) [failure/argued] *(failure mode)* -- As agency relationships become more complex, a backstop for human behavior becomes necessary, and the claim that smart contract agency relationships run exactly as coded with no possibility of agent opportunism is less likely to hold in complex agency relationships.
  > As agency relationships become more complex, a backstop for human behavior in agency relationships becomes necessary.
  Wulf A. Kaal, Blockchain Solutions for Agency Problems in Corporate Governance (2019). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3373393
- [3373393-038](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3373393-038) [failure/argued] *(failure mode)* -- Without a decentralized human backstop to code, the immutability of the blockchain and its cryptographic security systems may not be able to create truly transactional guarantees and trust between principals and agents.
  > Similarly, without a decentralized human backstop to code, the immutability of the blockchain and its cryptographic security systems may not be able to create truly transactional guarantees and trust between principals and agents in the integrity of their contractual relationship.
  Wulf A. Kaal, Blockchain Solutions for Agency Problems in Corporate Governance (2019). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3373393
- [3441904-028](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3441904-028) [failure/argued] *(failure mode)* -- The notion that smart contract agency relationships run exactly as coded with no possibility of agent opportunism is less likely to hold in complex agency relationships, so a decentralized human backstop to code becomes necessary as those relationships grow more complex.
  > The notion that agency relationships in smart contracts run exactly as coded without any possibility of opportunistic behavior of the agent is less likely to uphold in complex agency relationships.
  Wulf A. Kaal, Blockchain-Based Corporate Governance (2019). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3441904

**2021**

- [3808867-029](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3808867-029) [mechanism/asserted] -- A feedback loop exists between decentralized protection of the human factor in algorithmic systems and the proliferation of both algorithmic automation and decentralized solutions.
  > A feedback loop exists between decentralized protection of the human factor in algorithmic systems and the proliferation of both algorithmic automation and decentralized solutions.
  Wulf A. Kaal, How Decentralized Systems Can Upgrade AI (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3808867
- [3808867-030](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3808867-030) [mechanism/argued] -- Because a decentralized system has a blockchain based quasi precedent nature with a human backstop, it enables built in checks and balances capable of supporting resistance even to apocalyptic takeovers of algorithmic systems that would remove human presence to optimize efficiency.
  > Because of its blockchain-based quasi- precedent nature with a human backstop, the decentralized system enables built-in checks and balances that can support resistance to even the most apocalyptic applications and takeover of algorithmic systems
  Wulf A. Kaal, How Decentralized Systems Can Upgrade AI (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3808867
- [3808873-042](https://wulfkaal.github.io/claims/3808873-042) [design/argued] *(failure mode)* -- A decentralized human backstop to code is a core and often overlooked infrastructure requirement, because without it the immutability of the blockchain and its cryptographic security may not create genuine transactional guarantees or trust between principals and agents in the integrity of their contractual relationship.
  > Without a decentralized human backstop to code, the immutability of the blockchain and its cryptographic security systems may not be able to create truly transactional guarantees and trust between principals and agents in the integrity of their contractual relationship.
  Wulf A. Kaal, Decentralization Neutralizers (2021). SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3808873

## Verify

Every claim above resolves to a record carrying a verbatim source quote, the sha256 of the source PDF, and a preformatted citation. Nothing here asks to be taken on trust.

    curl -s https://wulfkaal.github.io/entities/human-backstop.md | sha256sum

**Canonical form.** This markdown file is the canonical hashed representation of this entity node. Its sha256 is the content hash.