Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Top Stories

Artificial Intelligence Series, Part 3: Productivity and Transformation

Artificial Intelligence Series, Part 3: Productivity and Transformation
Getty Images

Leland R. Beaumont is an independent wisdom researcher who is seeking real good. He is currently developing the Applied Wisdom curriculum on Wikiversity.

The idea of a productivity dividend fund became popular with other business owners as productivity increases in their business sectors also allowed them to produce more with fewer workers. Gradually, the funds from various industries merged and unified. As time went on workers originally displaced from one business found other work and later may have been displaced from other sectors. Productivity dividends from many businesses are collected and shared among many displaced workers. The system looked like this:


Productivity dividends from many businesses are collected and shared among many displaced workers.

Eventually, productivity dividend funds became mainstream. It became increasingly difficult to keep track of each individual’s employment history and it became difficult to determine what qualified any individual as having been employed. The system became simplified, and the funds were equally distributed to all adults. The people shared in the overall productivity increases. We learned to share the abundance.

Efficiencies emerged in unexpected places. The productivity dividend turned Parkinson’s law —the observation that work expands to fill the time available—upside down. Because people now share in productivity increases, many suggestions and innovations for simplifying and streamlining work were adopted.

The people now share in productivity increases.

It was not long before some form of universal basic income became a typical feature of every good government. People’s needs are met, the people flourish, and we focus on what matters most. Poverty and crime rates decreased as social justice improved. We recognize that machines should work so that people can live. Rather than fearing unemployment, we are happy to have fewer chores and we welcome the opportunity to spend our time on creative endeavors. Hans taught us to welcome productivity increases unequivocally.

The people now own the productivity dividend, and it is good.

This is the third and final part in a three-part series exploring the future of productivity.

Read part two of this series here.

Read More

The Economic Models that Made America Great Are Broken

American flag and money

Javier Ghersi/Getty Images

The Economic Models that Made America Great Are Broken

We all want an America where hard work pays, families thrive, and the American Dream is real again. Greatness starts with dignity for workers, safety for communities, and a fair shot for every kid. The promise is simple: if you put in the work, you should be able to raise a family and get ahead—period.

So why do we cling to what is obviously not working for everyday people?

Keep ReadingShow less
Meet the Faces of Democracy: Neal Kelley

Neal Kelley, who served as the registrar of voters for Orange County, California for nearly two decades before retiring from the role in 2022.

Issue One.

Meet the Faces of Democracy: Neal Kelley

Editor’s note: More than 10,000 officials across the country run U.S. elections. This interview is part of a series highlighting the election heroes who are the faces of democracy.

Neal Kelley, a Republican, served as the registrar of voters for Orange County, California for nearly two decades before retiring from the role in 2022. Home to nearly 2 million voters, Orange County, part of the Greater Los Angeles area, is one of the largest jurisdictions by population in the country and the third largest in the state. Kelley is currently the Chair Emeritus of the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections, as well as the statewide project manager for the 2024-2026 elections in Hawaii.

Keep ReadingShow less
Is America Still Welcoming Global Talent?
Close up of american visa label in passport.
Getty Images/Alexander W. Helin

Is America Still Welcoming Global Talent?

A few weeks ago, when new proposals limiting J and F visa expansion were open for public comment, immigration quickly became a hot topic again at our research center, where more than half the scientists come from abroad. Some worried about their plan, others traded news and updates about the H1-B. A colleague asked if I was anxious too. To my own surprise, I wasn’t.

I used to be. But after weathering turbulent visa policies under different U.S. administrations, like many other international scholars, I have learned to stay flexible and mobile. My U.S. visa for a graduate program was delayed due to tensions between the U.S. and China several years ago. Up against a deadline for the program, I pivoted to Japan to continue the research training. What felt like a closed door became a new window: I fortunately joined a world-class team in tissue-engineering vascular medicine, broadened my view of clinical care and research, and began bridging my path as both practitioner and scientist. Committed to strengthening the “bench-to-bed” pipeline—learning real-world needs and translating research to meet them—I chose the United States again to carry this work forward.

Keep ReadingShow less