192
9 Networked Minds
9.17 There Is More to Come: New Rewards, Virtual Worlds
Diversity is often seen as an obstacle to efficient socio-economic solutions. However,
it is not by chance that the most advanced species on Earth is so diverse, in contrast
to social insects, for example. Diversity is and always has been a major driving
force of evolution. Over millions of years, diversity has hugely increased, creating a
growing number of different species. Diversity drove (and still drives) differentiation
and innovation, creating new characteristics of life. Once humans became social and
intelligent beings, cultural evolution set in.
28 The slow process of genetic evolution
was then complemented by a rapid evolution of ideas. Since then, humans have
increasingly emancipated themselves from the limitations of matter and nature.
Nowadays, spreading ideas or memes (in the original sense of this word) has
become more important than spreading genes. Now, besides the real world, digital
virtual worlds also exist, such as massive multi-player on-line games. Thus, humans
have learned to create new worlds out of nothing but information. Multi-player online
games such as Second Life, World of Warcraft, Farmville, and Minecraft are just a
few examples.
It is equally fascinating that new incentive systems have evolved out of these
digital worlds, which are now influencing our behaviors as well. While it is perhaps
unsurprising that some people care about their position in the Fortune 500 list of
richest people, people are not only competitive about money and don’t just respond
to material payoffs. There are many other drives as well. Tennis players and soccer
teams worry about their rankings. Scientists care about the number of citations to
their work, and actors live for the applause they receive.
Some people even care about the scores they reach in gaming worlds. Although
such rankings usually don’t imply any immediate material or other real-world benefits, they motivate people to make an effort. It’s also pretty surprising how much time
people spend to increase their number of Facebook friends or Twitter followers, or
their Klout score. It is obvious, therefore, that virtual environments offer the potential
to create multi-dimensional reward systems, as it is required to enable self-organizing
socio-economic systems.
There can be little doubt that we are now living in a cyber-social world, in which
much of our social interaction takes place online. The evolution of global information systems will drive the next phase of human social evolution. Information
systems support “networked minds” and enable “collective intelligence”.
29 Humans,
computers, algorithms and robots increasingly weave a network that can be characterized as an “information ecosystem”. Therefore, one question becomes absolutely
crucial—how will this change our socio-economic system?
28 Therefore, for the survival of the human species, socio-cultural diversity is as important as genetic
diversity. Our planet may be exposed to a variety of disruptive events, and we can’t tell in advance
what culture will cope with these challenges best. For example, if a major solar storm destroys the
functionality of our electrical infrastructure, those cultures that don’t use electricity may be best
prepared to survive.
29 Rifkin [20].
9 Networked Minds
9.17 There Is More to Come: New Rewards, Virtual Worlds
Diversity is often seen as an obstacle to efficient socio-economic solutions. However,
it is not by chance that the most advanced species on Earth is so diverse, in contrast
to social insects, for example. Diversity is and always has been a major driving
force of evolution. Over millions of years, diversity has hugely increased, creating a
growing number of different species. Diversity drove (and still drives) differentiation
and innovation, creating new characteristics of life. Once humans became social and
intelligent beings, cultural evolution set in.
28 The slow process of genetic evolution
was then complemented by a rapid evolution of ideas. Since then, humans have
increasingly emancipated themselves from the limitations of matter and nature.
Nowadays, spreading ideas or memes (in the original sense of this word) has
become more important than spreading genes. Now, besides the real world, digital
virtual worlds also exist, such as massive multi-player on-line games. Thus, humans
have learned to create new worlds out of nothing but information. Multi-player online
games such as Second Life, World of Warcraft, Farmville, and Minecraft are just a
few examples.
It is equally fascinating that new incentive systems have evolved out of these
digital worlds, which are now influencing our behaviors as well. While it is perhaps
unsurprising that some people care about their position in the Fortune 500 list of
richest people, people are not only competitive about money and don’t just respond
to material payoffs. There are many other drives as well. Tennis players and soccer
teams worry about their rankings. Scientists care about the number of citations to
their work, and actors live for the applause they receive.
Some people even care about the scores they reach in gaming worlds. Although
such rankings usually don’t imply any immediate material or other real-world benefits, they motivate people to make an effort. It’s also pretty surprising how much time
people spend to increase their number of Facebook friends or Twitter followers, or
their Klout score. It is obvious, therefore, that virtual environments offer the potential
to create multi-dimensional reward systems, as it is required to enable self-organizing
socio-economic systems.
There can be little doubt that we are now living in a cyber-social world, in which
much of our social interaction takes place online. The evolution of global information systems will drive the next phase of human social evolution. Information
systems support “networked minds” and enable “collective intelligence”.
29 Humans,
computers, algorithms and robots increasingly weave a network that can be characterized as an “information ecosystem”. Therefore, one question becomes absolutely
crucial—how will this change our socio-economic system?
28 Therefore, for the survival of the human species, socio-cultural diversity is as important as genetic
diversity. Our planet may be exposed to a variety of disruptive events, and we can’t tell in advance
what culture will cope with these challenges best. For example, if a major solar storm destroys the
functionality of our electrical infrastructure, those cultures that don’t use electricity may be best
prepared to survive.
29 Rifkin [20].