I dedicate the book to the pioneers. Across spacetime, in the same Metaverse, we dwell.
The Master said, “Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.”
—Analects, 4:25
This project is part of the “Industry 4.0 Open Educational Resource Publication Initiatives” jointly supported by the Duke Learning Innovation Center and DKU Center for Teaching and Learning under the Carry the Innovation Forward Program. We are grateful for the consistent and generous support from departments at Duke Kunshan University and Duke University. The project was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic when international collaborations were incredibly challenging. However, because of empathy rooted in humanity, we were able to unite and create, thus making the impossible possible. We are forever grateful for the following departments and educators who have been indispensable for the initiatives and beyond.
Center for Teaching and Learning, Duke Kunshan University
Haiyan Zhou, Associate Director
Fan (Luisa) Li, Educational Technology Specialist
Duke Learning Innovation, Duke University
Amy Kenyon, Associate Director, Teaching Innovation
Quentin Ruiz-Esparza, Associate Director, Online Duke
Michael Greene, Associate Director, Learning Technology Services and Strategy
Duke University Libraries
Haley Walton, Librarian for Education and Open Scholarship
Dave Hansen, J.D., Associate University Librarian for Research, Collections & Scholarly Communication
Arnetta C Girardeau, J.D., Copyright & Information Policy Consultant
Office of Information Technology, Duke University
Devon Henry, Producer, Academic Media Production
Mich Donovan, Lead Producer, Academic Media Production
People assemble for different reasons, including by innovation. The contributors to this book come from diverse backgrounds: distinguished or rising scholars in multiple disciplines, entrepreneurs or practitioners in the industry, college students searching for directions, university staff serving for better education, etc. Nevertheless, they share the same passion for innovation. It is interesting that senior professors who are well-established in their field cannot resist the charm of innovation and become self-disruptors. Moreover, young scholars who are early in their careers are thrilled with the opportunity to become the next generation of leaders. That is the magic of innovation.
Moreover, our book aims to expand the joys of innovation to a broader community. We are fortunate to live in an era of technological revolutions. Technologies such as blockchain, AI, internet of the things (IoT), cloud computing, and 5G connect people at lower costs, and we envision a more inclusive future. However, technology is neutral, and if not utilized in the right way, a future in the opposite direction may occur. For example, most of the population has not benefited from these recent revolutions. Thus, education for the general public is the key to a digital world that can benefit everyone. We highly appreciate the college students and university staff who joined us for this great purpose.
This book is also intended to bridge industry to academia. The interplay between research and practice is by nature a bed for innovation. Scholars search for essential questions, while practitioners seek experts to answer their questions. However, there have long been obstacles in translation of scientific results into technology. The course to innovation is never easy because of the information asymmetry and inefficiency caused by the high cost of intermediaries. The Internet Computer (IC) has introduced a brand new way of entrepreneurship that significantly reduces the cost of innovation. Before the IC, there were earlier blockchains, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. However, the IC seems to be the first blockchain platform to host a wide range of applications, including DeFi, games, social media, Metaverse, and more. Furthermore, with blockchain technology, the IC enables us to design transparent economic incentives that return wealth to value creators rather than costly intermediaries. Pioneers in academia and industry sense the opportunity to collaborate. We are enthusiastic to innovate together on the Internet Computer and hope that this technology will be what it claims to be: an open internet that empowers innovators to reinvest in further innovations.
The space of innovation occurs at full speed. In the spirit of innovation, we have collaborated to imagine an intelligent world: an internet of everything.
Dr. Luyao Zhang
Senior Research Scientist at Data Science Research Center and Assistant Professor of Economics at Social Science Division, Duke Kunshan University
Founding President, SciEcon CIC
12/31/2021
In alphabetical order of the last name
Justin Cappos, New York University
contribute to the AMA interviews
Charles Du, Prolog Systems
contribute to the AMA interviews
Diana Gamborino, Bochsler Finance
contribute to the AMA interviews
Campbell Harvey, Duke University
contribute to the AMA interviews
Robert Lauko
contribute to the AMA interviews
Ye Li, Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University
contribute to the AMA interviews
Yulin Liu, Bochsler Finance and SciEcon CIC
contribute to Chapter 5 “Guide to Innovate” as the chapter co-author
contribute to Duke CS+ student case studies as project co-lead
contribute to the AMA interviews
Olivier Marin, New York University Shanghai
contribute to the AMA interviews
Kevin Mo, Beijing Big Data Research Institutes
contribute to the AMA interviews
Kartik Nayak, Duke University
contribute to Duke CS+ student case studies as project co-lead
contribute to the AMA interviews
Xiong Yu, University of Surrey
contribute to the AMA interviews
Luyao Zhang, Duke Kunshan University and SciEcon CIC
contribute as project leader and student supervisor
contribute to chapters as the leading author, co-author, or editor
contribute to the AMA interviews
Fan Zhang, Duke University and Chainlink Labs
contribute to Duke CS+ student case studies as project co-lead
contribute to the AMA interviews
In alphabetical order of the last name
Derrik Adam, Duke University
contribute to Duke CS+ student case studies as a graduate mentor
Ziqiao Ao, Duke Kunshan University
contribute to the AMA interviews
Rhys Banerjee, Duke University
contribute to Duke CS+ student case studies as an undergraduate researcher
Francesco Cavallero
contribute to the AMA interviews
Zichao Chen, Duke Kunshan University and SciEcon CIC
contribute to the AMA interviews
Elliot Ha, Duke University
assist in drafting Chapter 1
Oum Lahade, Duke University
contribute to Duke CS+ student case studies as an undergraduate researcher
Saad Lahrichi, Duke Kunshan University
assist in drafting Chapters 1, 3, and 4
contribute to the AMA interviews
Jiayi Li, Duke Kunshan University
contribute to the AMA interviews
Yixuan Li, Duke Kunshan University and SciEcon CIC
design book cover
contribute to the AMA interviews
Dylan Paul, Duke University
contribute to Duke CS+ student case studies as an undergraduate researcher
Malika Rawal, Duke University
contribute to Duke CS+ student case studies as an undergraduate researcher
Nirvan Silswal, Duke University
assist in drafting Chapters 1 and 2
Lewis Tian, Duke Kunshan University and SciEcon CIC
contribute to the AMA interviews
Xinyu Tian, Duke Kunshan University and SciEcon CIC
assist in project management
contribute to “The Phonebook,” one student case study as chapter co-author
assist in drafting Chapters 1, 2,3, and 4
contribute to the AMA interviews
Tianyu Wu, Duke Kunshan University and SciEcon CIC
assist in project management
assist in drafting Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4
contribute to the AMA interviews
Haoxin Yu, Duke Kunshan University
contribute to the AMA interviews
William Zhao, Duke University and SciEcon CIC
assist in drafting Chapters 1 and 2
contribute to the AMA interviews
Jiasheng Zhu, Duke Kunshan University and SciEcon CIC
contribute to the AMA interviews
Lunji Zhu, Duke Kunshan University
contribute to the AMA interviews
Zesen Zhuang, Duke Kunshan University and SciEcon CIC
assist in project management
contribute to “The Phonebook,” one student case study as chapter co-author
assist in drafting Chapters 1, 2,3, and 4
contribute to the AMA interviews
The OER collection “Innovate on the Internet Computer” documents a variety of learning experiences. Parts I, II, and III are from the perspective of learning by instructions, learning by cases, and learning by conversations. Part I consists of 5 chapters that provide the basic but complete pipeline for developing innovative applications on the Internet Computer. Part II includes 5 chapters of case studies produced by students from the Duke CS+ project team “Decentralized Finance: Cryptocurrency and Blockchain on the Internet Computer” and beyond. Part III consists of chapters on conversations documented in Ask Me Anything (AMA) interviews of pioneers in academia and industry.