that tells us where goods and services are needed by society by monitoring and prioritizing requests in real time, as well as monitoring “purchase” data (having people swipe an ID card and enter an ID when “shopping” online and so on). Like all that data gathered and put to use for good rather than evil…
Like seriously, imagine an economy run based on wants and needs, prioritized by data gathered about human happiness and life expectancy and shit, the thing tells us when we need more workers in whatever sectors because of demand, predicts what products people want so you don’t end up with shortages historically associated with planned economies.
Like I believe capitalism is an IT problem and also like imagine all those algorithms used to show you ads, used to curate your netflix and your facebook and everything used to benefit humanity rather than to shill crap?
I mean we have the ability to gather and interpret immense IMMENSE amounts of data, can you imagine what we could do with a records of everyone’s consumption of products and services? Of everyone’s requests?
Imagine the society we could build with all that data used for good, maximizing human happiness would be so easily within our grasp.
I like the ideas. I think this has been thought since at least since 60s e.g. Socialism ou Barbarie’s “On the Content of Socialism” mentions computer algorithms that try to do something like that, although not on the level of detailed personal data.
TBH I prefer impersonal computer algorithms determining all this rather than endless meetings and voting over next year’s production of shoes with people I probably so not want to talk to.
That being said I think it is a bit naive to say, “it’s ok, computers will do it all for us”. Such a system of production will require a lot of thought and lots of debates, and LBR will be set up in a world situation which is far from ideal (global civil war against capitalism, climate change, shortages of resources).
LBR?
I mean I think aside from energy we actually have a surplus of resources. Like we can produce not just enough food for the entire world but also enough video games and pointless tchotchkes.
I mean I don’t think computers will do it all, but I figure if you gathered enough data on what different stuff does to human well being, you could eventually just get it to like maximize human well being, y’ know?
It’s all a matter of having enough information.
Thoughts From The Peacock Angel 