Practical Utopia

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

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

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

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"

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

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.

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.

  Here are a few grants obtained by The Alberta School of Business (U of C).  This might be a good place to start our list of granting organizations. Here is a source of funding for film projects in Alberta. Gates Foundation may be worth approaching, not only for seed funding but for team members. Gates is, after all, at the center of an effort to really build a practical utopia. The guy at U of Manitoba may be interested. "Unsettled" author may be interested. "Taken By Storm" author? The deadline to "put up or shut up" with the Practical Utopia project is approaching. It's likely that I will need to dip into my "fun" budget. Keep records and hope for reimbursement. A few of the existing PU projects are little more than a pitch to raise money for an existing project. This may be true of this one, too - if the larger project is an "Alberta Advantage" documentary. PU offers advice. Take it. Pick a bum principle, and "asking a

  Here is a profile of Alberta's energy production and consumption. Details of Alberta power plants are here . In spite of brave "renewable" projects, Alberta depends on fossil fuels for electricity production. For the model, we can assume that Alberta will decarbonize its own economy at a rate that other regions and nations actually do (as opposed to what the politicians promise). Here is a profile of agricultural production in Alberta. Our scenario involves solid growth in this sector, an expression of confidence in the industry to turn climate change into an advantage. An important point to make is that "decarbonization" applies only to a carbon reduction in the percentage of energy used in the province. Exports of fossil fuels appear on somebody else's budget . Not everyone is floating on a sea of oil. Many nations will need to import fossil fuels for the foreseeable future. This is a point of confusion among climate alarmists, who, for instance, want

  A Thousand Small Sanities When it comes to considering "governance" in a utopian society, we don't usually see anything like the real complexity of society. Liberal Democracy is not just about voting or "government." For example, the following institutions need to work together: Public projects and infrastructure; Banks; Education; Courts; Police; Libraries; The "Cloud;" Communications; Travel; Materials distribution; Human knowledge, science, history We govern ourselves in complex, multi-layered systems: World; Federal; Provincial; Regional; Town; City; Neighborhood (Zoning); And then there are all the other ways we get together, including: Work; Clubs; Families All of this turns on the atom of society: the individual. As an individual, you connect with others in the context of the above structures and through your language, education, and history. This all seems a bit obvious, but it can be disassembled. The ultimate goal of a totalitarian governme

Here is a comprehensive list of power plants currently operating in Alberta. Rather than wishing away climate change and assuming a "net zero" path, I assume the existing power grid evolving as technology and cost/benefits allow. I also assume realistic population growth (along with demand.) I follow " How Things Work " to create a realistic picture of how new technologies will replace old ones. Generally speaking, such replacement will take place and will meet expanding demand. The general tendency will be for the cost of energy to decline over time. Generally speaking, I see no necessary link between the sweeping social revolutions pictured in Practical Utopias and the "Climate" issue in general. I am realistic about climate change. It holds opportunities as well as challenges. I think that the terms of reference for Practical Utopias require me to be optimistic about not only survival but the thriving of the human race. The pessimistic view is well

Symbiocene Key ideas: Money converted into inflexible energy exchange (?) 120,000 population works within the existing system Capitalization provided by coop structure (not bank, not ROI) Discussion: Scrapping "money" for an "inflexible energy-based" unit is extremely radical This goes back to the Marxist economic theory that explores the "intrinsic or fair" value of things Government (if any) has no role to play in controlling the currency, which is seen as a good thing This implies a strongly negative view of "government" in general Coops are assumed to scale up to cover all aspects of the economy, which may make sense since Symbiocene is basically a big Kibbuz This type of money has never been tried, but it was proposed by HG Wells in " Modern Utopia " To cite one of a thousand problems, the value of the currency would change wildly as it tracks the "real" cost of energy.  It would be like basing the currency on a barrel of

SAMSARA = "World" - Not the Linden Lab project  Ideas Disastrous regimes of the South Simplicity Totalitarians seized control of resources A few short months Jury-style, issue-based government The problem of integrating policies Education Mass timber and rammed earth dwellings No money "Gift economy" City design (unclear) High-speed rail Solar panels Hydropower Wind turbines Translation earbuds Learning at your own pace (old idea) Tiny scope-village Faith-based ideas Especially about death Recycling bodies Commentary This is a version of running off into the forest to escape the evil world. Nothing much new here. The timescale is unclear. The physical scale makes no sense. The mixture of the amazing high-speed rail and hand-waving energy sources is counterfactual and a mixture of scales. Who built the hydro dam and the high-speed rail. Or, for that matter, where does the tech for the translation earbuds come from. As a skeptic, I see embracing "spiritual practi

Ideas Focus on privacy and ownership of data education government prioritizes the life of citizens - how? health care agriculture climate change - agriculture waste  burial Left out Path to achievement, time line Climate change denial - we can recycle our way out of climate change Pretend that the rest of the world doesn't matter Narrow idea of government - basically just vanilla socialism No vision of society, control, multi-level government or citizenship "the" government "finally gets it" No mention of scale Hand waving about climate change  Agricultural plans inefficient without automation, and fertilizer, so how do you feed the population Hand waving at information issues - just privacy, no AGI Data questions are not just computer issues. Ownership of information a bigger issue

I have a few first impressions about imagined Utopias from Margaret's project: For some reason, there is a preference for round buildings. Extremely impractical except for single-room dwellings. Let's not go without our bathrooms and private spaces; Many dwellings seem to have been erected by magic without the heavy machinery that is needed, even for the foundation of a tiny house. Heavy industry needs to exist somewhere with energy sources comparable to what we use today, presumably with far less or zero carbon. The only alternative would be to revert to animal labor, effectively regressing to 1850 or earlier.  There is a strong preference for community gardens. People who love this have never worked in a garden large enough to put a dent in nutritional needs. Without machinery, it is back-breaking, dawn-to-dusk labor involving everyone able to do it, from children to seniors; The examples I see rely on "renewables" with a kind of hand-waving. Plop a windmill in the

Lifespan 100 but reaching limits around 120. Under the scenario, immortality is not assumed. Aging still happens Cancer < 100 rare, no Altzeimer's, most degenerative diseases conquered Molecular enhancements and bio advancements lead to a boost to brain activity in all ages. "work" on a military conscription model from an early age. People expect to contribute, train, and get rewarded for it. Calgary 2023 is a model for 2022. Wonderful indoor spaces. Library, Devonian Gardens Issue of assisted suicide - can people opt out, and under what conditions? The nature of AGI - is similar to the relationship of your iPhone to the cloud. Robots are appendages of cloud-based intelligence. Coin Artificial Global Intelligence. Embodiment makes a difference, but we may know something about "consciousness" by then.

The Kaya Identity tells us exactly what families of tools we have in the policy toolbox to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to some desired level. Specifically, carbon dioxide accumulating in the atmosphere can be reduced only by influencing the following four levers.  1. We could reduce the population.  2. We could reduce per capita GDP. 3. We could become more efficient.  4. We could switch to less carbon-intensive sources of energy.  These are the four—and the only four—means of reducing carbon dioxide emissions. All policies being discussed as climate policies must influence these levers if they are to have an effect. So debates about carbon taxes, cap-and-trade programs, offsets, energy innovation, personal carbon allowances, and on and on must eventually arrive exactly the same place.  Kaya Identity (1) Carbon Emissions = Population * Per Capita GDP * Energy Intensity * Carbon Intensity a. P = Total Population b. GDP/P = Per capita GDP (2) GDP = Economic Growth (Contraction) = P *

This post is home for ideas for the "Practical Utopia" project. It is constantly under revision and open to comments. I call the scenario "Bow River." It will focus on my hometown, Calgary, with an eye on the general region known as "Western Canada." (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) and the "North" Yukon Territory, etc. Raw materials do not appear magically. Extreme shortages of materials we now take for granted (such as steel and copper) and problems transporting materials from the rest of the world must be built into the scenario. We assume a virtual collapse of the international supertanker industry. ASSUMPTIONS This is "quality" Science Fiction. As much as possible, math, engineering, and physics are consistent. For example, the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics still applies, as do all the physics of climate. The climate is consistent with known climate models. CLIMATE The climate is assumed to be  sub-tropical , similar to the current-da

Margaret Atwood's Practical Utility Project Our constraints are: We have to use building blocks that exist today or that have existed in the past. We can’t just invent non-existent magic wands. No one size fits all: a house that might be good in the artic wouldn’t work in a tropical rainforest. We’ll devote ourselves to the material world first. What sort of dwelling might we live in? What might we wear? What could we eat? Where will our fresh water come from? How about energy? And transport? How about waste disposal? Once we’ve built our material worlds, we’ll turn to  social worlds : Health care, education, wealth distribution, gender roles and relations, and forms of governance – who says who does what?  Will we have a monarchy, an oligarchy, or a democracy of some sort? Totalitarianism? A benign dictator?  How will we make decisions and enforce them? Lots of models have been tried – what will ours be? I have a few first impressions about imagined Utopias from Margaret's pro