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