A journey towards a new dawn for humanity
Humanity is remarkably good at disagreeing. We disagree about politics, economics, religion, borders, culture, ideology and almost everything else we can possibly find to disagree about. And yet, quietly underneath all this disagreement, we have managed to agree on an astonishing number of things. International Coordination A meter is a meter everywhere on Earth. A […]
When tech leaders and titans of high finance debate the future of artificial intelligence, they inevitably reach the same tantalizing conclusion: intelligent automation and robotics will soon unleash an era of unprecedented global expansion. In this near-future world, the cost of producing goods, energy, and services drops toward zero. Yet during a high-profile exchange at […]
A friend of mine in Norway runs a small music blog called Volum11.no No Corporate Backing The name itself is a little music joke. It comes from the rockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap, where one of the musicians proudly points to his amplifier and says, “This one goes to 11.” It’s exactly the kind […]
Yesterday I came across another news report. Europe’s waterways are at record-low levels. The Rhine and the Danube—two of Europe’s most important rivers—have become so shallow that cargo ships can no longer sail fully loaded. Even nuclear power plants are being affected because low water levels interfere with their cooling systems. Tomorrow it will probably […]
Nothing matters more than money. Not forests. Not clean rivers. Not fertile soil. Not a stable climate. Not peace. Not equality. Not even the future. At least not if you judge civilization by what it consistently rewards. Business as usual The world carries on as usual. Investing. Expanding. Trading. Discussing interest rates, inflation, wages, savings […]
What is your favorite quote? If you only believe in the sun when you can see it you will never get through the night. Leia Skywalker
Imagining the new world This article is dedicated to Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-in-Chief of The Economist. In her recent interview with Elon Musk, she asked a simple but profound question. Musk said: “By 2036, money might not matter at all“, whereupon Zanny asked: “But in all practical terms, what would daily life look like in […]
In a recent interview with The Economist, Elon Musk made a prediction that would have sounded like science fiction just a few years ago. He suggested that money may no longer matter by 2036. His reasoning is that if AI and millions of humanoid robots can produce more goods and services than humanity could ever consume, […]
Most great civilizations in history has been temporary. The Egyptians believed their civilization would endure forever. The Romans thought the same. So did countless kingdoms, empires, and nations throughout history. Yet most of them eventually declined, fragmented, or disappeared. Perhaps the most dangerous assumption we make today is that our own civilization is somehow different. […]
In several interviews over the years, Elon Musk has suggested that a future without money may one day become possible, and maybe even inevitable. He has argued that sufficiently advanced artificial intelligence and robotics could create such extraordinary abundance that money might eventually become unnecessary. He has also repeatedly praised The Culture, Iain M. Banks’ […]