春雨直播app

When writing papers on themes within my field of expertise, I begin to see commonalities in what I find interesting and how I perceive it. To use an oxymoron, these are old yet new problems. I would like to highlight the following three here.

First is the issue of corporate governance. In "The Wealth of Nations" (1776), Adam Smith expressed early doubts regarding joint-stock companies. He argued that because managers of such companies handle other people's money (the shareholders'), they naturally become irresponsible, and shareholders, in turn, become irresponsible as they enjoy the privilege of limited liability. While the problem of double irresponsibility between managers and shareholders remains a significant challenge in corporate law, new governance issues are emerging now that funds and institutional investors have become the primary actors in capital markets.

Second is the legal regulation surrounding crypto-assets. When a new product appears in the world, the question often arises as to whether it is subject to securities regulation (recall the lawsuit between the SEC and Ripple). If it falls under securities regulation, it becomes subject to oversight by regulatory authorities, increasing the burden on new businesses. What constitutes a subject of securities regulation (an investment contract) is determined in light of the criteria set forth in SEC v. W. J. Howey (1946), known as the Howey Test. In doing so, one is required to accurately grasp the essence of newly emerging crypto-assets.

Third, crypto-assets also serve as a catalyst for the creation of DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations), which are new decentralized business entities. Currently, DAOs lack complete autonomy and remain hybrid organizations requiring human involvement; however, as technology advances further, fully autonomous organizations where algorithms and AI handle all decision-making and administrative processing may be born. Since the 19th century, the world of jurisprudence has conceived of "legal persons" (persons in the eyes of the law) in addition to physical natural persons as entities to which rights and obligations are attributed. Moving forward, we are required to examine how to legally position autonomous organizations embedded with AI, alongside animals and the natural environment.

When delving deep into these issues, I sometimes find myself compelled to reread texts written 50 years ago—texts I purchased 30 years ago when I began my research, which were already 20 years old at the time. My engagement with these old yet new problems seems set to continue.