The reporter questioned, why do people believe in code? Szabo smiled mysteriously: "Because the code doesn't lie. It can't be bribed, threatened, or change its mind at will. It just faithfully executes the established rules."
In a subsequent paper, Szabo elaborated on the concept of smart contracts:
A smart contract is a computerized transaction protocol that executes the terms of a contract. The overall goal of smart contract design is to meet common contract conditions, minimize malicious and accidental exceptions, and minimize the need for trusted intermediaries. I think the potential for greatly reducing the transaction costs of executing certain contracts and creating new types of businesses and social institutions based on smart contracts is huge, but has not been deeply studied.
However, the technical basis for realizing this vision has not yet appeared. Szabo and other cypherpunks will have to wait for many years.