# The Machine-to-Everything (M2X) Economy: Business Enactments, Collaborations, and e-Goverance
## 1 Introduction  
An open Machine-to-Everything (M2X) Economy [1] emerges when humans and smart autonomous devices interact, transact, and collaborate, e.g., self-driving buses and autonomous food delivery in a smart-city context [2, 3]. The ubiquitousness of smart devices also allows for business transactions without human intervention among autonomously acting machines. Besides Machine-to-Machine (M2M) interactions, machines interact with humans (Machine-to-Human-M2H), or infrastructure components (Machine-to-Infrastructure-M2I)--combined they provide the foundation for the machine-driven M2X Economy. While related concepts such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Homes as well as Smart Cities [4], and the Industry 4.0 [5] have evolved, they do not support an interoperable, integrated, scalable model that facilitates the M2X Economy. Likewise, concepts for M2X value transfer, collaborations, and distributed e-goverance are missing to achieve the shared objectives. Moreover, integrating humans and smart devices into a well-functioning socio-technical system [6] is essential, as it puts the M2X concept in a human-centered context. In the M2X Economy, smart sensors may offer collected sensor data such as temperature, or air contamination to interested buyers that rely on the aforementioned data for their own computations. In the context of autonomous and self-driving vehicles, scenarios such as automated tollbooth payments, autonomous battery charging services as well as generalTransportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) applications are among the most discussed use cases [7]. Thus, a socio-technical business model is required as it facilitates the M2X Economy. Various M2X-resembling applications and use cases already exist, e.g., in the context of IoT. However, complex and impactful applications are still missing that provide more than marginal value to society. In addition, an economy emerging from M2X enactments among humans, smart devices, software agents, and physical systems is rarely considered. To provide or utilize non-trivial services, smart devices may also have to collaborate on-demand with other entities to be able to achieve a shared goal, or even migrate to different geographical locations based on supply and demand. Accordingly, \"the interleaved on-demand collaborations, interactions, and transactions among autonomous, heterogeneous, and highly dynamic entities (humans, machines, software agents, etc.) lead to a decentralized, distributed and heterogeneous socio-technical system consisting of a large number of micro-services of different vendors and solution as well as infrastructure providers\" [1]. This trend coincides with the emergence of smart-contract blockchain technology [8] that allows for novel peer-to-peer (P2P) electronic governance models. Traditionally, human-to-human business enactments are governed by contracts either in the form of oral, or written agreement. A machine-driven ecosystem requires a digital equivalent that is accessible to all stakeholders, i.e., a smart contract-driven platform that allows for fact tracking, non-repudiation, auditability, and tamper-resistant storage of information in a distributed multi-stakeholder setting. Electronic smart contracts enable and govern business transactions using a computerized transaction protocol such as a blockchain. Moreover, smart-contract blockchain technology comprises computer programs for the consistent execution by a network of mutually distrusting nodes where no arbitration of a trusted authority exists. A one-stop platform for the provision and enactment of services and goods of a M2X ecosystem is desirable instead of a manufacturer-focused platform with deliberately forced, or functional lock-ins that lead to the formation of self-contained data and service silos such as Tesla, Google, or Amazon. Instead, an interoperability layer that implements the compatibility of different manufacturer platforms is required to allow for the exploitation of economies of scale and increased efficiency.