We are running out of silicon and the cost of computation is moving to the cloud.
Gamers are familiar with this concept, with services like GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud Gaming coming into stride recently. People who run websites might want to get a Kubernetes cluster to offload compute processes from their website. Or you might sign up for Lambda Cloud to run utilize Nvidia’s tensor cores for your deep learning workloads. Offloading computational processes to ‘the cloud’ is nebulous at best.
I see a future where we will have to start paying more attention to how much compute resources we use. And they will start charging for literally everything you want to do. You want to generate some images? Here’s some Midjourney credits. Need to store a file to the cloud? Here’s some Filecoin tokens or Infura credits. Time is money, and everything will have a price. The luxury of running things on your own silicon is likely coming to an end in the next five years.
The way it works now, it’s all kind of a hassle. I have to pay for subscriptions, everyone is competing for resources. Everything has a price! Sometimes I want to work. Sometimes I want to play. It should all just sustain itself through automation. For that, I think we are going to need some kind of programmable money, and a means by which we can track all assets so that computational services can be paid for on-the-fly via any work I might produce.
For that, I am suggesting some sort of crypto UBI. I’ll write more details in a future article, but first let’s take a look at my post about using cryptocurrency as a means to distribute virtual copyrights:
In my last article, I touched on some points I thought needed further elaboration. AI generated art generally requires tokens or points to compensate the computer for its processing power. When the human is just creating a prompt and the law decides the result isn’t copyright-enforceable then currency controlled by the state apparatus might not be the best mechanism of compensation for the human behind the prompt.
In the future, we will have computers paying other computers. Programmable money being used to track processes and show a receipt for the resulting outputs. Fiat money might be used for onboarding, but it’s primarily used for the human.
When I say things like “Crypto UBI” I envision a system of provably fair, equitable distribution of funds extracted from the value of real-world assets. The algorithms will know what my needs are and can amend itself to meet them without harming others’ ability to do so.
Between the computers being compensated for their resources, stateless copyright, and self-amending algorithms there needs to be a mechanism by which these services can upgrade themselves and pay for themselves.
The AI needs a way to pay itself to make itself better. Cryptocurrency (or other kinds of programmable money) are a good fit for this. Automated resource management will likely make the mistake of ‘optimizing’ far too much for its own good, but that’s a discussion for a different time.
With AI behavioral analysis, the computer will know how to ‘nudge’ me away from using too many resources. It will have tracked my habits and has assessed what it takes to incentivize me to help produce more resources instead of simply draining them. It can do this forever and optimize me for efficiency. It can make me ‘struggle’ to help refine my own neural pathways without compromising my ability to contribute.
Time is money, and everything costs something. With our resources dwindling, we need to onboard the workforce into leveraging artificial intelligence into making their jobs more efficient. Those who are too scared to embrace the technology might find themselves marginalized sooner rather than later. (We don’t trim the margins here at Shame Soiree, but instead try to learn from them. Can’t say the same for your boss, however. I heard he’s obsessed with optimization and doesn’t care who he sacrifices to achieve His goals.)
Most of the global monetary system is a ‘pump and dump’ of some sort. Buying debt, imaginary sell pressure, etc. You know the game by now. However, with AI-assisted resource management running on quantum-resistant computers that can meet every need of every individual we could possibly have an uroboros economy that can never quite reach its own tale. Entropy is inevitable, causing everything in practice to appear to be a pyramid scheme. (Life is a scam, am I right?)
Freedom through automation, but enslavement through human-enforced ‘guesswork.’ Like in Metal Gear Rising, sometimes you just have to fight wars to boost the economy. A great reset button on the game of life would be nice. That way, we can start off fairly!
I’d wager by the year 2030, everyone would have wearable blockchain tech. Possibly everyone could be their own ‘node.’ Every flash of every synapse monetized, tracked, judged, and every spare cycle of yours will be ‘mined’ to serve the greater good. Every need will be met, every will contribute to the best of their ability because we will know what everyone is capable of.
You’ve used up your allotted resource for the month! Figure out a way to contribute on your own or click the button that allows us to nudge your motivation toward a more efficient outcome!
If advertising agencies are always using AI to the same extent that the behavioral analysis people are, then I’d wager anyone with unfair number of resources could reasonably nudge anyone else toward their products. ‘Targeted advertising’ at this point would basically be like an ad agency being like, “what kind of person should we program today?”
With the push of a button, I can develop new languages that can speak to anyone’s inner motivation. Can reprogram you to meet any need the economy might need. The ability to opt-in would be important here. As if you can’t be peer pressured into opting-in to most things, but I digress.
Programmable asset tracking, AI-assisted incentivization structures, and cloud compute payment mechanisms that are cryptographically secured in order to prevent human error could be a great head start into something that’s actually sustainable. An endless cycle of AI-assisted lifestyles that encourage everyone to collaborate together instead of seeking personal gain because you can have endless cycles of economic activity to spur growth optimally until you no longer need it. Nobody will even know ‘cryptocurrency’ or ‘blockchain’ is at the base layer of it, it’s just part of how things will operate in the future.
In order to get this sort of efficiency, everyone will have to work together. The AI datasets can create a snapshot of human collaboration, but we can’t have this sort of globally automated economic system if we’re all afraid of each other, if we all hate each other. If we keep secrets from each other, this ‘got mine’ attitude probably won’t get humanity very far into the future. I would like an economy that knows how to feed itself without the need for human intervention and is capable of meeting every need without sacrificing anyone.
I can’t program, but I dream of a better future where the computers are simply far too intelligent to let us destroy ourselves.