Abundant Systems
Evolution toward abundance
In practice, a startup nonprofit has several important distinctions from traditional nonprofits: 1) it begins with a large goal and works backwards to identify incremental steps to achieve that goal, 2) it has an iterative, experimental mindset, and 3) it is an internet first organization.
marklutter.com • Startup Nonprofits
interesting framing. I’d been focused on the concept of eliminating the distinction between for-profit and non-profit, but this is an alternative way to examine the same problem, looking like it could have similar outcomes.
AI is aggregated human intelligence. So it’s better to call it collective intelligence than artificial intelligence.
Emphasizing the collectivity (something built on the commons) over the artificiality (a feat of technology) gives us an entire new way to see, perceive and relate to the technology.
-via Holly Herndon, in conversation with Ezra Klein
This is exactly what abundant systems try to do. It takes the individual efforts as part of the collective, not in isolation.
And more than anything, it feels particularly, uncomfortably, acutely uncertain.
Our Centaur Future - A RADAR Report
The biggest thing we can do is give people a sense of a secure present from which to explore potential abundant futures.
Algorithms are simply subsystems of the companies that create them, so when we want to examine the systems we use and are a part of, it is an extremely helpful lens to use.
Introduction to Abundant Systems
Algorithms can be analyzed through the lens of systems
scarce systems do what is most likely to succeed right now, because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Abundant systems assume that tomorrow will be there, so it’s ok to focus on longer term goals.
Introduction to Abundant Systems
System timelines - short-term scarcity vs long-term abundance
“AI will lift the ceiling, leading to more creative outputs made possible by more powerful tools; it will also lower the floor, making it easier for anyone to design and collaborate.”
Our Centaur Future - A RADAR Report
When the gap between the ceiling and flow increases, the way to prevent unrest is by adding more steps between. It’s important to see clearly how to level up to the ceiling, and not only enable people who have the ability to make the leap between the existing steps. More people being able to do something shouldn’t threaten the existence of anyone currently doing the thing.
Where we invest our time also has a Return on Energy (ROE).