The global brain and the emerging economy of abundance: Mutualism, open collaboration, exchange networks and the automated commons

The emergence of artificial general intelligence and the global brain provides new opportunities for realizing humanity's long quest for a more utopian existence. One possibility is a more successful implementation of the state socialist vision of a centrally managed economy, possibly controlled by an AGI Nanny instead of a central committee of politicians. An alternative outcome, more in keeping with the original Marxist vision of the withering away of the state, may be the mutualist vision of organizing economic and social life along voluntary lines. A number of recent developments and new ideas may facilitate this outcome. The institution of the commons, in the past available only to small geographical communities, can now be used by global communities. Open collaboration and exchange networks facilitate voluntary cooperative activity by people at dispersed physical locations. Open Production Networks can make the most complicated economic exchanges transparent to consumers, allowing them to factor ethical and sociological considerations into their purchasing decisions. Offer Networks can help people with similar interests and complementary abilities to organize joint projects and organizations. Blockchain technologies could be used to create transparent currencies in which transactions can be done openly. These and other related technologies have the potential to humanize global economic interactions, giving them more emotional resonance, as increasing affluence lessens individual and societal preoccupation with maximizing economic gain. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.