Algorithms and the Changing Frontier

58 Pages Posted: 10 Jan 2014 Last revised: 6 Jun 2014

See all articles by Hezekiah Agwara

Hezekiah Agwara

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Philip E. Auerswald

George Mason University - School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs

Brian D. Higginbotham

Independent

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: October 1, 2013

Abstract

We first summarize the dominant interpretations of the "frontier" in the United States and predecessor colonies over the past 400 years: agricultural (1610s-1880s), industrial (1890s-1930s), scientific (1940s-1980s), and algorithmic (1990s-present). We describe the difference between the algorithmic frontier and the scientific frontier. We then propose that the recent phenomenon referred to as "globalization" is actually better understood as the progression of the algorithmic frontier, as enabled by standards that in turn have facilitated the interoperability of firm-level production algorithms. We conclude by describing implications of the advance of the algorithmic frontier for scientific discovery and technological innovation.

Keywords: algorithms, discovery, globalization, innovation, interoperability, information and communications technology/ICT, International Standards Organization/ISO, production recipes, supply chains, standards

JEL Classification: D20, F60, L15, O31, O22, O33

Suggested Citation

Agwara, Hezekiah and Auerswald, Philip Edgar and Higginbotham, Brian D., Algorithms and the Changing Frontier (October 1, 2013). GMU School of Public Policy Research Paper No. 2014-02, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2377168 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2377168

Hezekiah Agwara

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Philip Edgar Auerswald (Contact Author)

George Mason University - School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs ( email )

3351 Fairfax Dr.
Arlington, VA 22201
United States

HOME PAGE: http://auerswald.org

Brian D. Higginbotham

Independent ( email )

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