reference the smart token paper in the smart layer paper

Author: SmartLayer

src/papers/smart-layer-technical-paper.bib

@@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
+@article{stl2023,
+  author = {{Smart Token Labs}},
+  title = {Smart Token: The Building Block for the Next-Generation Token-Centric Web},
+  year = {2023}
+}
 @article{wood2017,
   author = {Gavin Wood},
   title = {The Future of the Decentralized Web},

src/papers/smart-layer-technical-paper.md

@@ -1,12 +1,16 @@
 ---
 title: "Smart Layer: A Decentralised Integration Protocol for the Next-Generation Web"
-date: "1st September, 2023"
+date: "1st September, 2023; Revised on: 14th November, 2023"
 abstract: |
-  In the ever-evolving decentralised Web, a robust integration layer bridging siloed services through tokenisation is crucial. Smart Layer is a decentralised network designed to facilitate the next generation of web use-cases. As a network, it seeks to address the inherent limitations of the current Web. This whitepaper delves into the architecture, design, and potential of Smart Layer, and its token.
+  The evolution of the Web has been marked by significant shifts, from the site-centric Web 1.0 to the application-oriented Web 2.0. However, this evolution has also led to centralisation and a stifling of innovation. This paper introduces Smart Layer, a decentralised protocol designed to facilitate the next generation of web use-cases. Leveraging the concept of Smart Tokens, Smart Layer aims to decentralise trust anchors, thus fostering a more vibrant and integrated web ecosystem. This whitepaper delves into the architecture, design, and potential of Smart Layer, and its token.
 ---
 
 # Introduction
-The Web has grown increasingly integrated with the advent of Web 2.0. Integration such as, “Login with Google,” “Checkout with Apple,” and “Share with Twitter” are hallmarks of the Web2 user experience. The success of tech giants like Google has underscored the demand for integrated services. However, despite these advancements, the broader web landscape has remained fragmented. Centralised entities have emerged as dominant forces, creating isolated ecosystems that limit true integration. Though blockchain technology introduced a new paradigm which emphasised decentralisation and trustless transactions, its primary focus has been on asset tokenisation.
+The evolution of the Web has been marked by significant shifts, each bringing new paradigms and challenges. From the *Information super-highway* model of Web 1.0 to the application-oriented Web 2.0, the Web has grown increasingly integrated. However, this evolution has also led to centralisation, with a few dominant entities forming the foundational base. This centralisation has inadvertently stifled innovation and competition, resulting in a web ecosystem that is fragmented and constrained by the strategic priorities of these entities[@stl2023].
+
+To challenge this status quo, we introduce Smart Layer, a decentralised protocol designed to reshape the Web’s architecture by transforming Smart Tokens into the main integration points. Smart Tokens, as introduced in our previous paper "Smart Token: The Building Block for the Next-Generation Token-Centric Web", are tokenised digital rights and products/services that can be seamlessly integrated across various web use-cases. They decentralise trust anchors, thereby enabling a more equitable and participatory Internet that amplifies user experience and fosters a new wave of web innovation.
+
+Smart Layer is designed to function as a distributed network, serving as the backbone for the next generation Web, enabling Smart Tokens to act as trust anchors. It does so by providing a runtime environment for the execution of TokenScripts, an evolving OASIS standard that defines the packaging, distribution, and operation of these tokens.
 
 Smart Layer is a decentralised protocol that aims to reshape the Web’s architecture. It acts as an integration hub which enables smooth interactions between various services, much like how many websites use platforms such as Google. Smart Layer goes beyond acting as a “bridge,” and paved the way for the concept of Smart Tokens. Smart Tokens are tokenised digital rights and products/services that can be seamlessly integrated across various web use-cases. In that sense, Smart Tokens can surpass the limitations of centralised systems, and leverage the strengths of blockchain. This protocol is designed to function as a distributed network, serving as the backbone for the next generation Web.
 
@@ -18,11 +22,13 @@ This whitepaper serves as an introduction to the novel concept, models and mecha
 # Problem statement
 Dr. Gavin Wood has attributed the centralization of the web to a combination of factors. These factors include network effects, economies of scale, big data ownership, and intellectual property laws[@wood2017]. The centralization Dr. Wood identified has led to a situation where most websites today are integrated with Google or Facebook login, or Apple Pay, white the most popular websites use all those integrations listed.
 
-The harm caused by web centralization notwithstanding, it has enhanced usability tremendously. But it has also stalled the development of new integrations. This is especially evident in areas where world-renowned internet companies have no major influence, such as with airlines and purchasing tickets for flights. Central points in those areas (see Amadeus in flight booking as an example), can reach only the back offices of various websites. As a result, a flight ticket booked on one website can also be used to book a car rental on the same website, but that website only. Similar to the airline industry, in social media or e-commerce, a user reputation would work on one website exclusively.
+In our other paper on Smart Tokens[@stl2023], we delved into the concept of Trust Anchors and their role in the centralisation of the Web. We argued that Trust Anchors, essential services the web ecosystem relies on, have inadvertently led to the centralisation of the Web, stifling innovation and competition.
+
+The current web ecosystem operates under a paradigm where new entrants are beholden to the established trust anchors, which act as gatekeepers of progress. This dynamic has led to a web landscape that, while ostensibly advancing under the leadership of tech giants, is in fact characterised by a latent inertia. Innovators find themselves in a position analogous to infantry in an army, where their advance is not limited by their own capabilities but by the strategic decisions of the commanding officers. The result is a web environment that is less a meritocracy of ideas and more a hierarchy of trust, with innovation potential tethered to the discretion of a few dominant entities.
 
-This lack of user-level integration can be attributed to two (2) main factors.
+This lack of innovation and integration can be attributed to two (2) main factors.
 
-First, despite the aforesaid explanations, internet centres have become trust anchors. Should an uncommon third party provide integrations (consider the prospect of using or being provided a calendar other than Google Calendar), Whether a user’s trust will be “betrayed” is brought into question. Before blockchain emerged in the form of a trust machine[@winter2018] that could facilitate trustless interactions between parties, this trust problem was not resolvable without massive, centralised Internet companies as the trust anchors.
+First, as Internet applications become dependent on Trust Anchors, should an uncommon third party provide integrations (consider the prospect of using or being provided a calendar other than Google Calendar), Whether a user’s trust will be “betrayed” is brought into question. Before blockchain emerged in the form of a trust machine[@winter2018] that could facilitate trustless interactions between parties, this trust problem was not resolvable without massive, centralised Internet companies as the trust anchors.
 
 Second, the complexity of the system grows quadratically with the growth of the number of integrations used.
 
@@ -32,7 +38,7 @@ Having regard to these two (2) reasons, the modern Web faces a “Limit of 3”
 
 The Web’s fragmented nature has, in turn, led to fragmented user experiences. Reconsider the example of an airline flight ticket. In the current web paradigm, this ticket represents a token of value within its issuing platform, but it remains isolated. The potential for the ticket to integrate with other systems—updating travel statuses on social media, guiding users via mapping services, or communicating flight changes to hotel booking systems—remains largely untapped. Such straightforward integrations, though long overdue, are hindered by the Web’s compartmentalized structure, where centralized entities offer piecemeal solutions.
 
-Web fragmentation highlights the need for a paradigm shift towards a more dynamic and interconnected web ecosystem. This shift would consciously break the “Limit of 3,” thereby allowing websites to connect to a bigger ecosystem outside the control of the current Internet centres, while facilitating an integrated user experience. Naturally, such a new paradigm must include a freely grown integration network, low integration costs, and designs for secure, privacy-preserving mechanisms to expedite expansive integration.
+Web fragmentation highlights the need for a paradigm shift towards a more dynamic and interconnected web ecosystem. This shift would consciously break the “Limit of 3,” thereby allowing websites to connect to a bigger ecosystem outside the control of the current Internet centres, while facilitating an integrated user experience and enable innovation. Naturally, such a new paradigm must include a freely grown integration network, low integration costs, and designs for secure, privacy-preserving mechanisms to expedite expansive integration.
 
 # Proposed solution: the Smart Layer approach
 To reignite web innovation and overcome centralisation issues, we must look beyond merely creating isolated systems that sidestep the primary web integrations of the present. In their stead, we propose to build an integrated web where tokens are the main integration points. By transforming these tokens into web services, we pave the way for the next-generation Web.