Contract Language in the Form of Code

Let’s not touch on whether language is an independent characteristic of a contract, falling under the scope of form requirements or not (this is a separate discussion). The feature of programming code is that it is a formal language, not a natural one. A natural language (Russian, English, French, Chinese, etc.) is a specific linguistic category with its own characteristics, particularly characterized by contradictions in the units of information and the ambiguity of perception. This is both its incredible value and, at the same time, the reason for its limited applicability in conveying precise information.

A formal language, on the other hand, is an attempt to purify natural language from ambiguities, making it extremely useful for programming code, which interacts with hardware systems that, at their most basic level, can only operate with unambiguous statements (true/false). While natural language is not used in unambiguous statements, especially when describing complex and contradictory social interactions (a contract is certainly a social interaction), it is still invaluable. The most vivid example of the need for natural language is the concept of “force majeure.”

Another issue arises from the theory of will expression. A contract is a one-directional will expressed by two or more parties, meaning that (surprise!) the programming code must express the parties’ intentions, and the information output by the program and hardware system must align with the parties’ will. This, in turn, implies the need for such a property of the program text as “readability.” Here’s a radical example: if we consider a collection of programs, including an Artificial Neural Network (ANN), as a complete contract, how would we read it? The answer: you can’t, as an ANN cannot be read as a text in the way it is necessary.

Another question: do the parties truly sign off on a program they likely don’t understand and that may operate incorrectly (due to weak code, settings, or other issues)? Often, the parties don’t even see the text of the program behind the graphical interface "drawn" by the program. And this is even more true for complex programs whose functioning involves multi-level interactions with hundreds of thousands of lines of code! No, the program is not a declaration of intent.