One very general way we might address it is by building small, self-replicating versions of systems that have the tools to be more succesful and out compete existing systems for resources, but have built in components necessary to their running which stabilize the out-of-balance part.
If I wanted to make the united states more energy independant, for example, and I had the funds, I’d create an organization that installed for-free solar panels in neighborhoods at the price of a cut of future profits/savings from selling/using the power for a certain period of time. Then use those profits to slowly afford enough solar panels to transform another neighborhood, and so on. And I’d have the contracts for receiving income from clients include a part which specifies that if the organization ever sells solar panels rather than ‘giving them away’, that the contract holders were free of all payments and would simply own their equipment, I guess.
I suppose this’d cause an immune reaction of sorts to this ‘viral’ invasion of alternative energy by major power companies. But like all viruses, the company could probably find /some/ way to adapt. I’m assuming there are big holes in this model, and a lot of logistics problems. Like, growth might be intolerably slow for this to really take off. But its meant as more an example of the kind of thing—self reproducing, tooled to outcompete, with stability built in in some way.
I guess, addressing the internet addiction problems of people who’re interested in self-help, having a tangible self-help club with group study sessions and regular meetups would be somewhat helpful- but LessWrong already has something a little like that with its meet ups, and I think internet distractions are still a problem. You almost want a self-help software that does things like block website access or redirect your attention to websites you /should/ be on at that moment, provides reminders or motivational quotes, insists on break times, and so on, to become popular or even required for some aspect of participation in some self-help community. Maybe it’d also include reporting tools for your self-help projects.
One very general way we might address it is by building small, self-replicating versions of systems that have the tools to be more succesful and out compete existing systems for resources, but have built in components necessary to their running which stabilize the out-of-balance part.
If I wanted to make the united states more energy independant, for example, and I had the funds, I’d create an organization that installed for-free solar panels in neighborhoods at the price of a cut of future profits/savings from selling/using the power for a certain period of time. Then use those profits to slowly afford enough solar panels to transform another neighborhood, and so on. And I’d have the contracts for receiving income from clients include a part which specifies that if the organization ever sells solar panels rather than ‘giving them away’, that the contract holders were free of all payments and would simply own their equipment, I guess.
I suppose this’d cause an immune reaction of sorts to this ‘viral’ invasion of alternative energy by major power companies. But like all viruses, the company could probably find /some/ way to adapt. I’m assuming there are big holes in this model, and a lot of logistics problems. Like, growth might be intolerably slow for this to really take off. But its meant as more an example of the kind of thing—self reproducing, tooled to outcompete, with stability built in in some way.
I guess, addressing the internet addiction problems of people who’re interested in self-help, having a tangible self-help club with group study sessions and regular meetups would be somewhat helpful- but LessWrong already has something a little like that with its meet ups, and I think internet distractions are still a problem. You almost want a self-help software that does things like block website access or redirect your attention to websites you /should/ be on at that moment, provides reminders or motivational quotes, insists on break times, and so on, to become popular or even required for some aspect of participation in some self-help community. Maybe it’d also include reporting tools for your self-help projects.