The 3³ Laws of Cooperative Robotics (Plus Zeroth) A Systems Analysis of Platform Economics With apologies to Isaac Asimov, whose Three Laws of Robotics inspired this framework’s structure Authors: Liana Banyan Research Collective Date: February 2026 Status: Working Paper — Peer Review Invited Abstract This paper presents a formal analysis of nine interconnected economic laws governing value flow in cooperative platform ecosystems. Unlike traditional platform economics, which optimize for extraction, these laws create a closed-loop system where value preservation and distribution are structurally guaranteed rather than policy-dependent. We demonstrate that the laws exhibit emergent stability — perturbations in one law are dampened rather than amplified by interactions with others. The paper contributes to platform cooperativism literature by providing a mathematical framework for designing extraction-resistant economic systems. ...

Generosity for Potential Economic Law #6: The Boaz Principle Elevated “The value enabled by generosity exceeds the cost of the corner.” The Kiva Proof In 2005, Matt Flannery and Jessica Jackley founded Kiva with a radical premise: lend money to people who traditional banks wouldn’t touch, and trust them to pay it back. The results: Metric Value Total Loans $2,000,000,000+ Repayment Rate 96%+ Countries 77 Borrowers 5,000,000+ Traditional economics said this was impossible. People without collateral, without credit history, without the “right” background — they were bad bets. The math didn’t work. ...

The Inception Principle Economic Law #7 “There is nothing new under the sun.” — Ecclesiastes 1:9 The Helicopter That Could Have Flown in 500 BC Here’s a thought experiment that changes everything about how we understand innovation: Helicopters would have flown in any B.C. time. The aerodynamics that make a helicopter fly existed then exactly as they exist now. The laws of physics that God set in motion — lift, thrust, drag, the behavior of air over a rotating blade — applied in ancient Babylon as they apply today. ...

The Simultaneous Pricing Paradox Economic Law #8 “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.” — Traditional economics “Watch me.” — Liana Banyan The False Dichotomy Every business school teaches the same pricing lesson: Price Skimming: Start high, capture early adopter surplus Gradually lower price to reach broader market Risk: Slow market penetration, competitors undercut Market Penetration: Start low, maximize market share Build volume, then potentially raise prices Risk: Leave money on the table, attract price-sensitive customers The Conventional Wisdom: You must choose one. They are mutually exclusive strategies. ...

Jeep of Theseus Cold Start Economic Law #9 “We literally predict the market because we already sold it.” The Cold Start Problem Every new business faces the same chicken-and-egg dilemma: No customers → No revenue No revenue → Can’t serve customers Can’t serve customers → No customers Traditional solutions require capital to absorb losses during ramp-up. You burn money until you reach critical mass. Most businesses die in this valley. ...

Three-Gear Currency Systems: The tl;dr Want the formal proofs? See: Full Academic Paper The Problem in One Sentence How do you let someone earning $300/month in Nigeria buy the same thing as someone earning $10,000/month in Switzerland, without either subsidizing the Nigerian or penalizing the Swiss? The Solution Three currencies that all spend the same, but get acquired differently. Meet the Gears Currency Who Gets It What It Does Credits Everyone The main money. Spends everywhere. Marks People from weaker economies Tops up your Credits so you have full purchasing power. Clears through participation. Joules People from stronger economies Stores your extra value. Redeemable later at the rate you locked in. How It Actually Works Say the baseline is $1 = 1 Credit. ...

Ghost Credits and Demand Validation: The tl;dr Want the formal proofs? See: Full Academic Paper The Problem in One Sentence Most new products fail because nobody knew if anyone actually wanted them before they built them. The Solution Let people pretend to buy things before they exist. The Three Phases Phase 1: Ghost Shopping People browse and “add to cart” items that don’t exist yet. They spend Ghost Credits — fake money that costs nothing. This tells us: would people even click on this thing? ...

The 300 Framework: The tl;dr Want the formal proofs? See: Full Academic Paper The Problem in One Sentence Organizations either stay small and cohesive or grow big and become a mess. There’s no middle ground. The Solution Cap it at 300 people. But make those 300 work like 3,000. The Structure Six Domain Circles (50 people each) Circle What They Do Patrons Fund stuff, show up for events, VIP access Media Create content, manage channels, tell the story Academics Write papers, validate claims, academic cred Initiative Leaders Run projects, manage launches, make stuff happen Amplifiers Share content, recruit members, spread the word Infrastructure Build systems, maintain tech, keep lights on Three Commitment Tiers Tier Commitment What They Get Shields Show up occasionally Access, community, voting on some stuff Spears Regular participation More access, priority for opportunities Phalanx All in, core team Decision-making power, revenue share The Ask Matrix When a project needs something, the Ask Matrix matches: ...

The Boaz Principle: The tl;dr Want the formal proofs? See: Full Academic Paper The Problem in One Sentence Platforms extract maximum value from every transaction, leaving nothing for newcomers or those who can’t pay full price. The Solution Build generosity into the math, not the marketing. The Biblical Reference Book of Ruth, Chapter 2. Boaz tells his workers: leave grain in the corners of the field. Don’t harvest everything. Let people who can’t buy come and gather what’s left. ...

The Anti-Extractive Derivative: The tl;dr Want the formal proofs? See: Full Academic Paper The Problem in One Sentence Normal businesses make more money by cutting costs, which usually means cutting quality. The Solution Lock the margin so the only way to grow profit is to grow volume, and the only way to grow volume is to increase quality. The Math (Don’t Panic) Normal business: Profit = (Price - Cost) × Volume ...