Smart contracts: are they that smart?

Contracts appear all around us in our daily lives: the agreement to meet for a coffee, to shout a friend lunch, or help pick up your in-laws from the airport during their yearly Christmas visit. Technology has not replaced the notion of contracts but simply changed the interface. The act of putting coins into a street parking meter or swiping your bus transportation card all constitute the act of participating in an agreement.

Take the ever-popular vending machine, for example. When coins are inserted, I expect the can of Coke to be dispensed, along with the appropriate amount of change. Back in the days when these vending machines were invented, they were a revolution. They were also considered smart devices. As technology has progressed, we find ourselves in another age of the vending machine revolution, only this time it involves cryptocurrencies.

"Smart contracts" was a term introduced by Szabo in an article that was published in 1996...