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The big difference is that a smart contract is a running, stateful, immutable piece of software. Alternatively, I can run software with an MIT license by myself, but I can always modify the data or API without any approval of the users.

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In practice almost every vaguely live protocol has god mode where some "Sam" can upgrade the contract to whatever they want, because bug risk in immutable contracts is too high (VCs who fund the projects don't want to be sued for bugs). So this becomes functionally equivalent to a SQL server just slow and taking 100x the server capacity.

This is interesting. Essentially a reference piece of software where anyone on the network can run the exact same bits (assuming they have compatible hardware). But also the ability to extend or compose where the new system will also have a reference identity.

This may have use in defining standards. You could have a standards authority without any actual standards body. Free but standard.

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