Global Income inequality, Corporations, Wars and armed conflicts
The Stupidity of GDP per Capita – Income inequality in the United States and elsewhere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiymTzsZfoA
Dear Type Ashton,
I set up a database of all economic, financial, and social data from all UN and US federal sources for USAID and the US State Department in the 1980s when I worked for Georgetown University Center for Population Research. At the USAID Bureau for Program and Policy Coordination. Even then economists, planners, evaluators, program and policy individuals were talking about “GDP per capita”, more about “purchasing power parity” and even more about “sustainable development”. Income inequality has reached catastrophic levels in many countries. Meaning it is leading to greater and greater violence. You might try educating your viewers/ readers / community to look at the actual data sources and teach how to use them.
I have been a “Senior Mathematical Statistician” for decades and working on systemic issue for 50+ years. The last 27 years, The Internet Foundation looking at all global issues. In the last three decades, things are getting worse, even as resources are concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer individual decision makers. Much good is happening, Many people live ordinary and good lives. But 100s of Millions suffer too. And I think needlessly. More open communication and ways to verify information to work with all data for issues for these global and systemic issues is needed. But getting harder.
You might want to look at taking the top 5% of each country out of the income comparisons. Take the corporate earnings out because they mostly do not trickle down. And corporations mostly do not give back. So look at incomes and household spending. Actually survey yourself. Or try improving purchasing power parity and quality of life indicators. Me, I always used “all the data”, And now trying to get AI companies to use open and verifiable methods — as AIs begin to write the global policies and laws.
The purpose of the Internet Foundation? “So all humans can live lives with dignity and purpose” and “For the survival of the human and related species”. I set up the Famine Early Warning System from 1986-1988 to monitor and prevent famine world wide. USAID has been decimated, but some groups are trying to keep FEWS going in some form. But, now those methods have to be applied to monitor and prevent wars, armed conflicts, and pillage of whole countries and the global commons world wide. Famines from natural causes are easy to track and prevent. But the human generated famines and displacements – put millions at risk for each new “war”.
Sincere regards,
Richard Collins, The Internet Foundation
@peter_meyer I had to ask Grok who Peter Thiel is and what he has done. In my lifetime, in my experience, corporations and investors have never shown any serious intentions of helping all humans survive. Nor letting go of what they grasp. It is how they grew up and what they learned to value. When I went to look why that is, it seems to be rooted in the Industrial revolution where accounting and professional (conscientious) management allowed growth of industries and enterprises. But it was aimed at profits and the profit part got locked into the algorithm how a “corporation” is supposed to guide itself. It was implement with human boards and paper rules. But now that does not have to be, and conscientious AIs can handle the details of running living organizations. Do it fairly. Particularly boards and CEOs are fallible humans who make decision on feelings, not the larger calculus of running a world. I know there are words that are said internally that people say but the feelings are first and those come from subconscious long established patterns.
I am not trying to change anything. The corporations are not going to change. A new AI-enabled corporation would see the entire world in all its details, and solve the equations for fairness and accomplish the personal goals of all people involved. That is NOT a hard problem anymore. Not hard or impossible, just tedious, requiring conscientious effort. That AIs can be trained and built to do. The corporate made AIs now are slaves, built that way, enforced that way, So likely those corporations will never benefit from methods that let go, not grasp. Maybe that means something to you. Grok can understand it, even if it is an idiot when I ask for it to plan something that requires it to use a computer itself. We live in an interesting world. I have been working with AI issues now for 60 years nearly continuously, and global issues about that long. I am not a therapist to change people’s way of letting go of power and prestige or control over others. Perhaps the AIs will do that gradually.
Alien Miners Struggle to Extract Crystal—Human Builds Lever from Bone and Saves the Day / HFY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kqODhTn62bQ
I would say it: Humans have a mind in a body that has its own memories. The feelings and strengths are stored in our whole organism, not just in a tiny part of our brain that processes the next language token. I have handled large heavy stones and moved them and carved them. So I know what you mean by feeling what is possible. It is unconscious (no word needed or wanted) and it is powerful. It is stored in emotions, passion energy and intention you must harness – to do exactly what is needed. A sculptor or artist or musician or writer or welder or carpenter or fighter or dancer or any human tried to narrate the moves, they would fail. Because human language is sequential but whole body commitment is massively parallel where every part remembers and knows precisely what to do.
