From Kevin Kelly:
A universal law of economics says the moment something becomes free and ubiquitous, its position in the economic equation suddenly inverts. When nighttime electrical lighting was new and scarce, it was the poor who burned common candles. Later, when electricity became easily accessible and practically free, our preference flipped and candles at dinner became a sign of luxury.
🤔
I started thinking about what might happen to important areas of our lives if suddenly the currently “luxurious” thing were to become ubiquitous and free:
What if smartphones were free and everyone had one? Luxury would the person who didn’t need a phone, perhaps because they have assistants, or perhaps they have a job that doesn’t require smartphone access.
What if calories were free? Then eating less – or not eating at all – would become the new luxury. Fasting. Caloric restriction.
What if computers were free? Similar to smartphones above, perhaps luxury then is not needing a computer at all. Or having an army of assistants (AI or human) that use computers for you. Or living off the grid.
What if car travel were free? Imagine an era of free energy + self driving cars. Imagine summoning a private car to drive you anywhere you want, within a reasonable distance, and all for the cost of a bus fare or less. Then luxury might look like someone who doesn’t travel at all – who has built himself an all-inclusive resort with every comfort they could need: a home gym, a home garden, a home theater, and so on. Sorta like what the elites did during covid lockdowns.
What if quality healthcare were free? Imagine a machine or system that could examine, diagnose, and cure you of 98% of common ailments, all for a very low fee or completely subsidized by the government. What would an inversion look like? Would people purposefully get sick so they’d better appreciate health? Or would they invest so much in preventive healthcare and personal fitness in order to eliminate the need for common medical treatment?
What if high quality university education were free and universally accessible? Perhaps luxury would be those who skipped university entirely (not unlike today’s fetish around college-dropout-billionaires), either to pursue a career early, or to follow their hobbies and passions (like art or music). Or luxury could be homeschooling, people who opt-out of the institutional education system.
What if life extension were free? What if you could add as many years to your life as you wanted? Then perhaps luxury would be choosing to die.
And this is what “free university education for everyone” looks like to Stable Diffusion:
