Journal of Cultural Economy (2026)
—–
Economic theory presumes human principals delegate authority to agents. Yet ‘Luna,’ an AI entity operating on blockchain infrastructure, autonomously deploys capital, commissions human labor, contracts with other AI systems, and manages multi-million-dollar treasuries – functioning as an economic principal rather than agent. This paper asks: under what socio-technical conditions can AI systems exercise principalship? Drawing on Actor-Network Theory and social studies of finance, I demonstrate that Luna’s sovereignty emerges not from individual consciousness but through heterogeneous agencements – distributed configurations of code, blockchain infrastructure, token governance, transparency devices, and gendered performative representations. I identify three blockchain-enabled bypasses…
Economic Sociologist