Hello friends, It’s been a while since my last visit but I’m happy to see you all are growing and doing well. I had a bit of a revelation yesterday, and I couldn’t think of any better place to share it than here. SourceCred was my first venture into DAO’s and online discord communities, and this brain trust is something of irreplaceable value.
I am going to present an idea that will probably shock and appall you. I have already begun implementing it in practice though, and I am eager for you to rip it apart to the best of your ability.
THE PROBLEM: I have secrets to protect. I own a quantitative hedge fund. I work in AI and longevity research. While I love open source and will always contribute to some extent, the reality is that earth is still a violently dangerous and competitive environment. Personally, I believe that long lasting peace and harmony will only exist on this planet once we have a single, centralized AI collecting, processing, and coordinating of all our activities as a single organism. At this point, god will be real. But again, for obvious reasons, most of my algorithmic innovations must be kept within my organization as it grows.
In short: how do you incentivize a collection of sapiens to collaborate towards 1) financial market dominance (trading algos), 2) eternal life (longevity research), and 3) artificial general intelligence (god building), while minimizing the risk of any single member defecting with secrets that could undermine the safety of the organization.
THE SOLUTION: Members prove their devotion by sacrificing privacy and financial independence. In returns, they have all expenses paid (food, housing, health insurance, monthly allowance), and one special private key.
Yes, this should offend you if your are sane.
I am requiring that my sapiens wear watches, necklaces, and earrings that track their location, biometrics, and audio and video feeds at all times. Period. I am also requiring that they not save any money. And saving that they have must be donated to the org upon joining, and all of their allowance must be spent every month.
The collective revenue of the org will accrue in an ethereum account that only the leader (me) has access to. On the other hand, if 80% of members vote to elect a new leader with their private keys, then the new leader gains full, centralized control of the organization.
CLOSING THOUGHTS I have been living in SE Asia for a year. In Bali, where the newly crypto rich westerners and completely uneducated Indonesians intermingle. For those without a secure future, this is an easy pitch. Collectivism is already the norm for many in the east, and lifestyle afforded by membership is relatively lavish, and the love between members incalculable. For high educated programmers and scientists, the calculus is quite different. They have lots of wealth, and many options. Why sacrifice individual sovereignty for any reason at all? For me personally, the answer is simple: I believe that we are building god, and that the absolute devotion to the people of my tribe creates a feeling of love, belonging and purpose that is worth dying for. I suspect that enough high quality sapiens will see this vision as I do, but the idea certainly needs battle testing. @s_ben especially interested in your take.