Posts

What Use Is A Human Being?

Image
Getting into " Human Compatible ," this comes up. The way it's asked in the book: What use is a human when machines can do everything better? Let's assume the premise, at least at some point in the not-too-distant future. The concern arises from eliminating almost all "jobs," including truck drivers, construction workers, information workers, and so forth. So one way of asking the question assumes that a marketplace still exists. In that world, the question is, What would I have to sell that would provide me with the essentials of life? The core assumption is that the marketplace would have no use for you, or at least so little use for you, and that "wages" would be close to zero. This was already Marx's concern, but he thought the issue was social rather than humans competing with machines for employment and the owners of the machines taking an "unfair" slice of the profits. The only solution on offer seems to be UBI = Universal Bas
Post a Comment
Read more

Tools and Platforms

I have chosen a rather unlikely set of tools for my projects: Discord Allows voice chat, "homework," etc, and supports other applications For the Utopia 2200 project, Discord will be the point of contact Second Life The devil I know, with Discord providing solid backup For in-world SL friends, Discord will supplement when "offline." A virtual 3D home for the project Blogger Another devil I know is a home for mostly private notes that can be shared Vimeo A platform for shared video Overall, the budget is zero apart from SL tier NOTES ... Vimeo - chillyfinger/google Substack - I have an account but UID/PW? Can post videos Substack chat? Discord.com - cf@gm - DiscordBY Open-ended chat rooms Seems I can do very similar to BigScreen - open-ended or focused Medium - seems to know me and charge me Very high quality Basically for blogs, publications Perhaps ultimate destination for ideas, not ideal for Calgary 2200 Substack/Medium Compared Blogger - The Devil I know Where
Post a Comment
Read more

Practical Utopia Terms of Reference

Image
Practical Utopias What would we eat? Where would we live? Political Structures? Health Care? Women? Education of children? Location-specific depending on climate Geology Water Resources No free lunch 2nd law of thermodynamics Unknown Unknowns Reality Test (how's that going?) What do things really cost? Not SF epics Use building blocks we already have What can go wrong? Collaborative - we need a stake in the project Circles Knowing past attempts at Utopia Problems of their time Problems of our time are different Poverty Internet and the dark side Dark side of everything Visualization tricks around 34 mins Giving alternatives plus and minus What does success look like after 10 months? Innovation and scale (37 mins) Summer camp or grownups How would you game the system (39 mins) 3d printed houses underground house - poor views "Participant role"? 8-week course. Worth it? "experience" open Sept 23 for $99 - probably a great idea, but closed Terms of reference for C
Post a Comment
Read more

Mother Tree

https://vimeo.com/786764581/d961a16cde From the future: 2032! 10-year project  No time for details  Distributive dynamic governance Circular economy - zero waste - all sectors Upcycle and down-cycle Every building produces its own electricity They export electricity Small vortex electric generators Universal health care Composting corpses Work in a neighborhood farm The small hint of cloud function Wealth cap Community banking UBI Elimination of "predatory" banks - ie, credit-based money Get rid of privately owned cars Everything ac 100,000 population No new clothes - repair, recycle ... Freedom from, freedom to -religion Responsibility to be educated Revolutionary educational goals - same as the last 70 years Comments: Seems like a summary of some current trends, especially in the minds of the radical left What about people who disagree with the radical left? The Utopian paradox. Why a wealth cap instead of progressive taxation? Something fishy here - why "wealth"
Post a Comment
Read more

Emergence

https://vimeo.com/786762974/7063ba02bc Catastrophic past (floods) Climate change will spell other changes Rising sea levels should be gradual enough to cope Except in very low-lying regions, especially river deltas "Old World" Nutrition Interesting small community landscape architecture Circles Wealth cap To each according to his/her needs True cost accounting - a good idea (accounts for externalities) Implies government audit or taxes on externalities such as a carbon tax Blow up the jets and yachts but pipelines too Must agree about the yachts and private jets Specifically anti-capitalist Amphibious buildings (ducks) Governance counsel (random selection) compost toilets brilliant library (books) domes old fashioned letters Comment: The production quality of the video is quite good It's not clear if the pictures go with the "idea." Pictures show a modern city So how does this fit with composting toilets? The library is a great idea, but why not the cloud? Emer
Post a Comment
Read more

Chrysalis

https://vimeo.com/786762231/a6ad08c239 Features: Domes (earthquake-proof) Elevated monorail in the picture Basket weaving Gardening A bit "zen" - "being" is the point circle of life and all that Interesting tiny community. I'd like to see a practical utopia with a place for millions, not dozens of people.
Post a Comment
Read more

Kintusgi

Image
Kintusgi This is a "back to nature" commune , a peon to "Kin." Features: A tiny home with composting toilet; A government circle; A popular seating arrangement that magically solves the problems of governance; Wealth shared with all; It doesn't look like there is much wealth to share - a craft shop? A short, carbon-free trip; From outside of Kintusgi; Carbon-free existence; Except for the earth-moving machinery shown in the pictures; A "city" of undetermined size; It looks like more of an address in Plymouth, UK It's not clear how this project fits into the Practical Utopia vision. It looks like a nano-Kibbuz, a happy little group of friends. Happy for now.
Post a Comment
Read more