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SvenBöttcher
MovingtoSimCity™
Howwecanplayfullysavetheworld
Allrightsreserved,SvenBöttcher2017(mail@solunia.de).Asfarasmycopyrightsareconcerned,theredis-tributionandprintingof thiswork fornon-commercialpurposesarepermitted,however, the removalanduseoftheillustrativescreenshotsforotherpurposesisprohibited,aswellascopyingand/orfurther/editingoftheimages.Imyselfusethepictorialmaterialhereinthecontextofthequotationrightonlytounderlinemytheoriesandforthenecessaryclarificationofthedescribedfacts.Ifyouwishtousetheimagematerialforotherpurposes,youwillneedawrittendeclarationofconsentbythecopyrightholder,i.e.ElectronicArtsInc.
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Assertion
Wecanplayfullysavetheworld.Allweneedtodoistomaketherulesappropriatesothat they serve this purpose. By designing an appropriate framework, our legislators(real-lifeprogrammers)canensureavictoryofcooperation,atriumphofaltruismand,ifyouliketheconcept,“love”itself.Ifwesodesire.However,thishasnotbeenthecasethusfar.Butitiseasyandimpressivetodisprovetheideaofhomohuminilupus,manbe-ingmen´swolf, andhomooeconomicus being our defaultmode.We can disprove thisideaempiricalandexemplary,bymovingtoastrictlygrowth-oriented,capitalist,global-izedmetropolis:to"SimCity™"1.
SplashscreenBeforehand,asadisclosureorgamerdisclaimer:IdoadmitthatImaybeatadaddictedtogames. Ihavealwaysbeen, fromPong toPacMan (whoateonevenatnight,behindmyclosedeyelids),fromWingCommandertoLegendofZeldatoMario(allparts,includ-ingallcarts),fromTekkentoMetroidtoFifato2048toPeggle-Iplayedthroughevery-thing, and through everything with joy. (Of course also through the first version ofSimCity,backinthe80sonaDuoDockMac),However,Iliketothinkthatamnotdisqualifiedforhighermentaleffortsbecausebe-
sidesgamingIhavefoundsometimetopublishabout30books,novelsaswellaspoliti-calandphilosophicalnon-fiction,towriteadozenfilms,seriesandTVformats,torunacoupleofcompanies,toraisethreechildren,toprovidealotofpeoplewithjobsandlive-lihoods. Ihope that is enoughorat least sufficient foryour suspicion that Imayhavesomeexpertisenotonlyasagamer.Andwiththat:Let'sgo.ToSimCity.SimCityBuildIt,tobemoreprecise,forthisisthelat-estdevelopmentofEA´severlastingcityplanningsimulation.Soundsdull,butit'snot.Atbestmeditative,sinceunlikeegoshootersorquestgamesSimCitydoesn'texciteyou,butcalmsyoudown.Anditisprogrammedinaniceandsimplewaysothattheaddictdoesnotfailbytrippingoveranybarrierstounderstanding.Nevertheless,thegameprincipleisexplainedandillustratedherealittlemorepreciselyintheshortestpossibleformforallthosewhodon'tknowSimCity–everyoneelsefeelsfreetoskiptheparagraphsbelowanddirectlyjumptopage6.SimCityis,asthenamesuggests,acityplanningsimulation.Theplayerfunctionsas
"themayor",hisgoalistocreateandenlargeacity,uptoamegalopoliswith2-4millioninhabitants and themost beautifulmonuments, parks, universities and futuristic sky-scrapers.Atthebeginning,however,thereispracticallynothing.Becausetheplayerhasonlyafewaccessibleplotsoflandinlarge,wonderfullyemptywasteland.Righthere,inthemiddleofthisundevelopedarea,theplayercannowsetupafirst
buildingsiteforaresidentialarea,afewminipowerplantsforelectricity,waterandgasaswellasaDIYstore,andofcoursehealsoneedsapolicestation,afirebrigadeandahospitalaswellasafirstfactoryfortheproductionofrawwoodandiron.Thatwillcosthimsomeplaymoney (fromhis initial “Simoleon”spileof seedmoney,whichone re-ceivesfreeofcharge),andinnotimeonthebuildingsiteafewfirsthouseswillappear,
1Invented,manufacturedandtradedbyElectronicArts(hereinafterEA).
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andthe inhabitantswillpaytheirmayorsomeSimoleons - taxes, thereturnonhis in-vestment.
Fromthismodestbeginning, then, theplayerwillkeeponbuilding,andovertime, theresidential areaswill grow into high-rise buildings; one can buildmore factories andproducemoregoods, take inmoreandcangraduallydevelopmore land.However, asthepopulationgrows,sodothedemands:theinhabitantsexpectquitealot-entertain-ment,parks,schools,aport(forforeigntrade), lateranairportandaspaceport,andifyoufailtomeetthosedemands(orbuildyourSim´shousestooclosetothereekingfac-tories(orforgettobuildmorefirebrigades),yourcity´sinhabitantsgetinabadmood-andmoveaway.Thismeans,ofcourse,thatallhousesarevacantandthetaxrevenuesaremissing,soyourcityissimplygoingbankrupt.Intheinitialphase,therefore,somemayorssucceedonlyinfinanciallyoverreaching
themselves and in leaving behind a deserted, stinking, bankrupt ghost town. (Thoseshouldbeerasedquickly.Luckily,thisisvirtualreality,notrealDetroit.)However,everymayorwithahalfwaydecentapproachwill,albeitwithagreatdealof
patience,slowlyprogresstowardshisgoals.Ofcourse,theincentivesincreasewiththerequirements,becauseEA’sprogrammersdonotonlycontrolthegame,butalsothemo-tivationof theirplayers.Basically,whenever theplayer tends to lose interest(orevenrealizesthathehasbeenspendingquitealotofhispreciouslifetimeintheconstructionofdefactonothing),therealwaysisanewinterestingchallengepoppingup,likeanup-gradeintheformofnew(or,finally,environmentallyfriendly)factories.Andtherewillbenewchallengesthatwilltakeyoutothenextlevelinnotime.Well,no,notinnotime,but,hey,it´llbejustanotherhalfhouruntilyouarethere(wherewe´llhappilycomeupwithanewcarrotdanglingrightinfrontofyournose).Tobebrief:thegameisaddictive-likeallwell-programmedgames.Andthisaddictiveeffectisbuilttolast.Foralong,longtime,becauseSimCityisquite
literallyacontemplativeexperience,andeventhe"Dr.Vucatastrophes"thatcanbetrig-geredbytheplayerhimselfdonotprovideforadrenalinerushes(butonlyfornicere-wardsassoonastheself-inflicteddamageisrepaired).Soyoudon'thavetolearnany-thingoronlylittle,youcontinuetomovebythesamesetofrulesinaworldwhichisbe-
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coming more and more demanding, and you act, build, move, expand in a semi-meditativestate.Foraverylongtime.Foryears,tobemoreprecise,untilthedesireddazzlingmetropolisisfinallythere.Onelikethis.
(Idoadmit,ofcourse,thatIwasn'taimingformaximizationofpopulation,butbeauty.And,yes,IlikemyFrenchAlsterontheCoted'Azur.)
Nowifyoudon'thaveanypatienceatall,butstillwanttocallyourownsuchabeautifulcity, you can– at least theoretically - abbreviate thewholebuildingprocess.Alas,notwithhacksorseriouscheats,sincethewholegamerunsontheEAserverfarms.Never-theless,itisquitepossibletocreateadazzlingSimCitywithintwoconcentratedweeks.For thispurposeoneonlyhas topermanently reduce all productionand constructionprocesses tozerobypressing thebuttons thatappeareverywhere,offering theoption"immediately".Butchoosingthisoptionpermanentlyrequiresa lotofplaymoneyyouwouldhavetobuywithrealmoney(theprogramoffersthispossibility,scaled,startingwithsmallchange(€5.99),endingwithabigbagofsim-doughfor€109.99).However,ifthe impatientplayer reallywanted togetoutof anempty landscape immediatelyand
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create a city like the one shown above - including completeHollywood studios, someworldwondersandlotsof"legendarybuildings"-hewouldn'tbeabletoaccomplishthiswithoneortwolargeplay-moneybags,butratherneededrealmoney,roughlyestimat-ed,a150,000€2.NotSimoleons.RealEuros.150.000.3Wecanthereforeneglectthisscenariohere.Nobodypays150,000€foravirtualcity.4
WarrenBuffettmusthavebetterthingstodothanplayingSimCity.Therefore,theonlyrealistic alternative for the ordinarymortal is to invest a lot of time, because time ismoneyinvirtualasinreallife.Andso,afterhavinginvested1or2yearsand1-2hoursadayofyourprecioustime,youhavethe150,000€city“forfree”(orforatotalof100€,ifyouoccasionallyhelpyourselfinavery,verymodestway).Sonow,atthelatest,afterreachingallessentialgoals,withhisownvilla,viewofthe
lagoonandHollywoodinhisback,eventhecraziestplayerwillstopandlookforanewsedativehobby.UnlessEAcomesupwithsomethingelse.AndEAalwayscomesupwithsomethingelsetokeepitscustomersaddicted.This time,however,withsomething that–not intendedby thecreators -points far
beyondthegameitself.AfeaturethatunderlinesinanastonishingwaythatwelivejustapushofabuttonawayfromUtopia.
TheCivilMayor'sSocietyByaddingthenew"Mayor'sCompetition"modein2017,EAofferedtheindividualplay-ers,theSimCitymayorsofallcitiesscatteredaroundtheworld,anopportunitytoteamuponline,togathertogether25citiesandthuscooperate - in aquite globalized sense, i. e. inthe form of trade challenges that can only bemasteredjointly.Basically,thiswasallaboutnomoreandno
lessthanproducingahightotalgrossdomesticproductof25cities -with thenumerous jointfactoriesandproductionfacilities-forwhicha"legendarychest"wavedasarewardattheendofeveryseven-dayseasonalmatchday.A"LootBox",which, however, could only be achieved2TheexchangerateEuro(€)toUSDisapprox.1:1(Iknowit´smorelike1.15:1,butforthesakeofargu-ment,let´snotbefuzzy.3I´dliketoadmitthatImaybewrongherequiteseverely,andthatthewholethingmaycostmorelike100,000or250,000.Forourreasoning,thisistotallyirrelevant,butifanyonehasmoreprecisenumbersorestimates,Iamhappytostandcorrected.TheassumptionsandkeydataIusedfor"allatonce"arethe-se:stock(200)=150€,Vu-Towercomplete=2.000€,mountain+beachcomplete=2.000€,landdevel-opment(all)=7.000€,immediatecompletionofallbuildingsandfactoriesatthehighestlevel/legendarybuildings=60.000€;SpecialItems(victoryprizes)arebasicallypriceless(duetocompetitionsyoucannotskip),myestimatedpricefor1seasoninthe"immediate-quickcourse"is8(gamedays)x300€=2.400€,sothatthewinningprizes(like8"Hollywood-Studios")foreachindividualseasonwouldadduptoabout18,000€,inthecaseofthecityshownabovex5=about100,000€.Fromthispointofview,yes,itistruethat€250,000isprobablymorerealisticthanthe€120,000Ihaveassumed,butthatisirrelevantintheend,becausenoonewillseriouslybuildaSimCityinthisway.Neitherforaquarterofamillionnorhalfamillion.4„12,000€"appearstobehappening.Themayor,whoconfessedthiseffortinoneofthechatsIvisited(believable,becausehis"City"wascreatedveryquickly),wasanexception.Thereactionoftheotherat-tendees,whohad"only"investedalotoftime,remainedastonishinglywell-behaved.
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withdifficulty,evenbyagroupof25multi-millioncities.(Smalltownshadnochancetowinthelegendarychest,butatleastoneofthefivesmallerones.)Even for 25 absolute heavyweights with game crazymayors, however, 1.5 million
points permatchday (= 7 days) represented a serious challenge, because even in thehighest category (Megalopolis league) it is hardly possible for the individual to scoremorethan100,000points.And1.5millionpointsin7dayseasilytranslatedintoanav-erageof60,000pointsforeachplayeronateamof25.Inotherwords,with30-50matchdaytasks,aminimumof1,500per individual task,hardlyasolutioncanbe found,be-causethe individualtasksrequiredagreatdealoftimeandprecisecoordinationofallfactoriesandprocessingtrades.Eventhoughsomeofthe25partners,thereal"giants",managedtoscore100-120,000points,othersofthenewlybuilt1-million-plus-citieson-lymanagedtoreach30-50,000points.A finalexplanation isrequiredhere.Theplayer´s individual tasks,presentedtohim
by the system, usually consisted of either producing a large number of complicateditems(fromvariousotheritems5)orofproducingandcollectingsimpleitemstoextendbuildingsorloadingcargoships/airplanes.Onceataskhadbeencompleted,anewtaskwasautomaticallyaddedtothelistof10
tasks.However,itwasnotpossibletoseeinadvancewhichnew,mostlucrative task would appear (allother tasks were out of the ques-tion for 100,000 point aspirants).In otherwords: You couldn't pre-pareforwhatwastocome-andsoyouoftenfoundyourself inatightspot, facing a real time problemwhen the next top task appeared.For example, if youhad entrustedyour "food factory" (on specula-tion)with the production ofmeat(time-consuming, the productionof 5 steaks requiring 10 hours ofrealtime)andyouwerenowrequestedbythenewlyuncoveredtaskcardtodeliver3sacksofflour,whichcouldonlybeproducedinthesamefactoryasthesteaks,youwereforcedtowaitforawholeday6-ortoexecutealesswellpaidorder,whichwasbadforyourtotalscore.Inthiscase,asa“lonefighter”,allyoucoulddowaswait,becauseflourwasalwaysinshortsupplyonthefreemarket,soitwaspracticallyneveravailable.Butnowtherewasamergerwith24cities,atradeassociation.Andevidentlyitwas
simplyasmartideatoknockonallofyourneighbours'doors,byusingthebuilt-inchatfunction,andask:"Doesanyonehave3floursforme?"
5Theproductionofthemostbasicitem,anail,costs2piecesofironandtakes5minutes.Thecreationofthemostcomplexiteminthegame,ahamburger,costs3xanimalfeed(whichturnsintoasteak),4xtex-tile+4xseedaswellasafurtherportionofanimalfeedforcream(whichiscombinedintoaroll),aswellasabarbecue(whichconsistsofaspatula(2iron,2wood,2plastic)and3morepiecesofiron).Intotal,theproductionofaburgertakes7hours.6Addicted connoisseurswill argue that EA has invented the expensive "speed-stamps" for these situa-tions,but thatdoesn'tchange thebasiccorrectnessofmystatement.Theomissionof thestamps in themaintextisthereforeduesolelytoabetteroverallunderstanding,especiallyforthenon-addictedlayman.
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Theprobability thatsomeoneactuallywasproducing flour -orhadsome instock -wasquitehigh.Andmaybetheflourownerwouldevenpartwithhistreasure.Butonwhatterms?When Iwas accepted into "my" club, a circle of 25 establishedmayors, and looked
aroundinthecitiesoftheothers,Iwasimpressed-bythecontentsoftheparticipants’externalstorages,accessibleforeachofthe25participants.If,forexample,therewere5sacksofflourstoredhere,youcouldsimplytakethemwithyou,forasmallamountofplaymoney.ButasIimmediatelylearned,youwereonlyallowedtodothatifyouaskedfirst.SinceIneeded–stickingwithourexample-3bagsofflour,Iasked.Orrather,said,
followingthestrictrules,"Need3flour."Andexpectedanoffer,apurchaseprice.Orworse,anoffertoexchangethe3bagsof
flourfor3VUbatteries(batteriesweretremendouslyvaluableandhardtogetby.)Tomysurprise,asimple"flourgo",sent fromoneofmypartnercities,appearedin
thechatwindowinstead.SoI"jumped"there,found3sacksofflourinthestorehouse,tookthem(forasmallamountofplaydough),wasabletofinishmytaskandaskedthedonor,witha"thx":"Whatdoyouwantforit?"(nowalreadyknowingsafelythatthedo-nor couldnot take advantage ofme, because if he asked for 3 batteries now, Iwouldsimplyrefuseandonlycompensatehimadequately,butnotletmegetboggeddown).Theanswerwas:"Nothing."Ithankedhim,again.Disbelieving.Becausethisonehadtobeaparticularlywealthy
partner.Andanaltruisticone,too.Probablyonewithlotsofinternal,inaccessiblestor-agefacilities,amayorwhohadspentallhislife(orallhismoney)inSimCity.Butacloserlookatourmemberslistrevealedthatthedonatingpartnerwasrathersmall-atleastmuchsmallerthanme.Another newcomer, new to the team just likeme (let's call him "Paco"), asked his
questionimmediatelyafterentering–and,unlikeme,quitebluntly:"NeedVUbatteries,exchangerate1:1forlanditems".Youcouldcertainlysuggestthat.Evenif theexchangeratewasslightly inPaco's fa-
vor,sinceVUitemswerelesscommonthanlanditems.Theanswer came immediately, from theexecutive floor, from thevice-presidentof
thetradealliance(letscallhim“No.2”).No2:"We'renottradinghere."Pacowasamazed:"Whatelse?"No.2explained:"Justsaywhatyou'relookingfor."Paco:"3VUbatteries."No.2:"Go."Ittook2minutes,thenPacothankedNo.2,whosenta"URwelcome"back,andon
Paco's questionwhether he reallywanted nothing for this treasure, No. 2 simply an-swered:"Whoneeds,gets.Whohas,gives."Fromthismomentatthelatest,Iwasfascinated-bywhatwashappeninginthechat,
duringtherushhours(afterthemayorsapparentlyhadfinishedtheirother,real life´sjobsfortheday).Thischatconsistedmainlyofrapidfiresearchesandimmediate"Go"s.Duetothehighfrequency,however,itmadesensetoaddtheaddresseetothe"Go",be-causeotherwisechaoswouldreignwithinminutes.AndofcourseIjoinedin.AskingforwhatIdidn'thaveandjustneeded-andfiring"Go's"inreturn,puttingitemsintomyex-ternalstoragefacilityassoonassomeoneneededsomethingIhad.At first,however, Ihadahardtimewhensomeonecalledfor"5xMeat"or"3Batteries",becauseformy"5xMeat"Ihadtorunmyfactoryforawholeday,andIhadspentthreedayssearchingfor
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my"3Batteries".Besides,Iwoulddefinitelyneedthesetreasuresmyselfwithinthenextfewdaysforseveraltasks,soIwouldn'tbesostupidtogivethemup.Yes,Iwas.Idid.Becausethat'sexactlywhatwassmart,notstupid.Thiswasanessen-
tial part of this community, this team. The organisation I found myself in practicedsomethingthatweonlydreamorfantasizeaboutintherealworld:areal“gifteconomy”.AndIwasamazed.Of course you can say "that's not surprising at all, it's just a game - in reality this
wouldneverwork".Let's leavethatasaworkinghypothesis,butwhatbaffledmewasthatin"SimCity"thisprinciplecouldworkmuchlessthaninreality.Tobemoreprecise,itwascompletelyimpossibleforSimCitytodevelopintoagifteconomy.Thiscontradict-edallassumptionsaboutthebehaviorofthehumanbeingitself,thehomoeconomicus,andevenmore:Itseemedtobecompletelyirrational,defyingallreason.Please bear in mind the risk that the established partners exposed themselves to
whenacceptingnewcomerslikemeintotheirclub.WithmyentryintothecircleIhadgainedaccesstothestorehousesofallpartners,facilitieswhichwerefilledtothebrimwith"slots",i.e.5-packsofalltreasures,whoseproductiontookanenormousamountoftime-orwhichweresimplynotavailableatallonthe"freemarket".AllofthisI,anewcomer,couldsimplypocket.Hoarditinmyinternalstorehouse,in-
visible, inaccessible to theothers,andafter thisrobbery Icould:simply leavetheclubagain.Withfullbags.And,mostbeautiful,noonewouldevercatchme.Noonewould,noonecouldpunishmeforthat!NoSimCitypolice,noSimCityFBI.Nobodycouldturnmein.Iwouldnotevenbedenouncedand"banned"byEA,becauseIwasfreetochangemycitynameatanytime!Paradise!Adreamcometrueforthehomooeconomicus,whoisalwayslookingforhisownad-
vantage.Youdidn'tevenhavetobeabornthief todevelopfantasieshere.Here, therewereweeksoftimeonthepresentationplate,upforgrabs,andyoucouldgetawaywithmurder(orVUbatteries)completelyunpunished.Whydidn'tanyonedothat?WasIsurroundedbypure,goodpeople?Byaltruistsandphilosophers?Orbyethical-
lycorrecteconomists?Quitefrankly,itdidn'tsoundlikeit.My"co-mayors"seemedtoberatherrefreshinglynormal,judgingbythechats,someofthem“hadtobeupearly”,theirreal life professions apparently ranging from bus driver to teacher to paper men.Whetherethicsprofessorswerehidingbehindsomeshortmessages,wasnottobeseen,butseemedunlikely tome.Theonly thing Iknewforsurewasthatmy fellowplayersmadeendsmeet inreal life,andreal lifeclearlydidnotobeyto"gift laws".So Iaskedmyself:Didn'tanyofthemseehoweasyitwastogainasubstantialadvantageherebyrobbingeveryoneelse?Whydidn'ttheydothat?Robbingandripping?Ifnotallofthem,whynotatleastone
or two?Whydid they refuse inunison?Andwhydid theyeven refuse to trade?Theycouldn't do that! Valueless nails for valuable steaks!Wherewere the exchange rates!Damn, 5nails areworth20paymentunits in theworld of SimCity, but 5 burgers areworth18,000units-youcan'tjustgivethembackandforth1:1!Andyoucan'tleavealldoorsopen!Andanyway!Thiscouldn´twork,thisshookmywholeskepticalviewoftheworldand
itspeople.Whatthehellwasgoingonhere?Theanswer,atleastinmyview,isquiteremarkable.Infact,thepartnersinthisclub
didnotactuallyactasethicsphilosophers,developingatrueutopiainthemodelworldofSimCity,butpursued-atleastatthebeginning-strictlyselfishgoals.Twoofthem:
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a)tomakeyourownsolocompetitionvictoriousagainstothercities(=attheendofeachmatchdayyouhavetoputinaboxofobjectsthatarenotforsale.b)Collect1.5millionpointsintheteamcompetition(=attheendofeachmatchday
percapitatobagaboxofobjectsthatarenotforsale).Taska)couldbeaccomplishedonone'sown,withdifficulty,butmucheasierwhen
cooperatingwithothers.Taskb)couldnottobeaccomplishedonone´sown,butonlyincooperationwithoth-
ers.Whichbringsusback toourpotential thief, theplayerwho thoughtofhisownad-
vantage:Hecouldquiteeasilycalculatethathewouldbeabletoaccomplishtaska)onhisown-andallthefasterifherobbedtheothers.However,inviewofthefunctioninggift-givinghecouldalsocalculate thathewouldreach thegoal justasquicklyorevenfasterifhegotinvolvedintheunusualpractice,becauseobviouslyeveryonewashelpingeveryoneelseoutofatightspot.
Butthesecondgoal,thebigvaluablebox,couldnotbereachedbytheplayeralone.Thiswas only possible in theteam. And even then, it wasonlypossible if the strongestplayers helped the weakestplayers to fulfill their tasks -at least so well that themayors at the lower edge ofthe alliance also successfullyperformedwithintheboundsoftheirabilities,i.e.contributedtheir30-40,000pointstotherequired1.5million.Thebehaviorofthemembersinthisclubwasthereforenotaltruisticallymotivated,
butselfish.Nevertheless,allofthembehavedaltruistically,becausethisaltruismservedtheegoisticgoalofcollectingasmanypreciousobjectsaspossible.Thus,linkingaper-sonalgoaltoasuperiorgoalbydesignthesystems’rulesorframeworkfavoredtheal-truisticbehaviorofthewholegroup,ormoreprecisely:madealtruisticbehavioralmostirresistible.Thesetofrulesdidnotchangetheintrinsicmotivesoftheparticipants,butdidchangetheresult.Forinsteadofgainingone'spersonaladvantageattheexpenseofothers,onegainedthesameadvantagebygivingwholeheartedly.Thatsoundslikepureutopiaor“love”inthesenseoftheinventor-thingsbecomingmorewhenyougivethemaway-butinfactthisresultwasonlytheconsequenceof"reasonable",selfishbehavior.Bytheway,itshouldbenotedherethatthevictorybonus,i.e.the"legendarychest",
which canonlybeachievedby the team, contained the samevaluables for eachof theparticipants. Thismeans that the "big animals", themillionaires, received exactly thesameshareofthejointlygeneratedbooty,thenetprofitfortheyear,asdidthemedium-sizedbusinesses,the"JohnDoes",whohadcontributedonlyafewpointstotheoverallsuccess. In real life, bothmillionaires and Johns and Janeswould protest against thispractice for diametrically opposed reasons, but the SimCity players' mind set wasaparrentlydifferent.Althoughthe"millionaires"possessedunattainablybeautifulcities,noneof the less fortunateplaysersenviedthemtheirshareof thetotalspoils,andalt-houghsomeofthe"littleones"hadnotcontributedmuchtotheoverallsuccess,nomil-lionairebegrudgedthemthecomparativelyhighshareofspoils inrelationtotheiran-nualincomeorprosperity.If one transferred this principle to our realmayor's society, then after a successful
businessyearoftheclub“USA”or"Germany"everyco-player(read:citizen)wouldben-
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efitbyreapinginthesame100or10,000euros.Thisishardtoimagine.Itisunthinkablethatanyonewouldagreewiththis,norcanweimaginehowmanymillionsofcivilserv-antswouldbeunemployedinsuchaconstellation.Andnoonecanwantthat.Seriously.Seriously?Thevirtual"ungrudge"ismentionedhere,however,onlybecausetheeffectoftheal-
truistic, albeit egoisticallymotivated sacrifices reached a little deeper into the overallconstitutionoftheotherplayers-asbecameincreasinglyclearwithincreasingplayingtime.Becausebeyondthestill"reasonable"attitudedescribedabove,acompletelynewcontagioussub-competitiondevelopedinthisparticulareconomy,whichwastobenefiteveryone,andonethat -surprise -knowsonlywinners.Anewcompetitionunder theinvisiblemotto: "Let's seewho's the fastest and biggest here: The fastest and biggestbenefactor!"Ofcourse,wedealwithselfishness-again.Withegoism,withthejoyofcompetition,
withthepleasureoftheindividualtorunfasterthanalltheothers-or, inthiscase,togive faster.Butwherecertaincompetitionssimplydon't takeplace,e.g. "Whohas thebiggestbankaccount?"or"Who´sthesmartestchiseler?",onehastoresorttosubstitutecompetitions. In which other prizes await you, here: appreciation. Street credibiltypointsforgenerosity.Andofcoursethemillionaireshadtheadvantage!Theoneswiththe biggest accounts and stocks. But all of those, including themost valuablemayors,wereimmediately"enchanted"bytheideatosimplygive.Asfastaspossible,asmuchaspossible.Someof theevenstarted “battles”via thechat function, firing impossible re-quests,andfiringgoodsbacktothe“poor”instantaneouslywithaloud"Go!!!”.And,no,nooneconsideredittobe"degoutant"thattherichoverpoweredeachotherinbenevolence,inplainsight.Onthecontrary,thosewhotooktheleadherecouldbesureofgeneralrecognition.And if ithadbeenpossible,wewouldhaveputamonumenttooneortheotheroftheserichpeople.Hereatthelatest,itbecomesobviousthatthecomparisonofthevirtualworldwiththerealworldismisleading.Forthisisreallyillusory:theideathatourrichpeoplewouldpublicly “battle” each other, surpassing themselveswith ever new benefits for all theothers,andinreturnwewouldbehailedandcheered.Wherethehellwouldthatleadus?StraighttoUtopia?ForChrist´ssake!Godforbid.AndifSheisindisposed,well,we´ll
fix thisourselves–wedohaveeffectiveweaponsatourdisposalagainstsuchutopianthreads, and if nothing else helps us, our “instincts” (or what we think to be our in-stincts)will save us – behaviour perfectlymisnamed in Orwellian “newspeak” as our"senseofsocialjustice"(which,ifyouwouldliketolookoutofthewindowforasecond,helpsno-one,neitherthemanywhourgentlyneedhelp,norourunhappybillionaires).InSimCity,allthisisabitdifferentthankstotheappropriateframeworkconditions.
Surreal,ofcourse.Becauseit'ssimplyfuntohaveagoodstreetcredthere.It'sfuntoberespectedandappreciatedjustbecauseyougivewholeheartedly.Andthat'scontagious.This,again,soundslikelove.Butofcourseyoucansay,"Evenloveisselfishness!"Possibly.But in theend,provided that theright frameworkconditionsare inplace,
frompureegoismgrowsaltruism.Forthisdependssolelyonwhichgoaltheegoistcon-siderstobemostsuitableforfulfillinghisegoisticdesires.Thus,wherethe"bestofallgoodpeople"hasthebestreputationandnothingismorepreciousthanthebestreputa-tion,therest,theutopianparadise,fallsintoplacequitenaturally.
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ThefragilityofcooperationAlooktotheleftandright,tothesidestagesoftheastonishingidealdescribedabove,however, reveals how sensitive, how vulnerable cooperation and altruism are to theslightestmisalignmentsinrulesandregulationsorinthecompositionoftheteam.Inthecasedescribedhere,thesesideshowstagesarethejunior"B-team"oftheclubdescribedabove aswell as the sub-game function "War"offeredbyEAas an encore for the25-memberclubs.TheSimCity“War”isnota"CallofDuty"lightshow,butratheraninnocentgimmick
thatweneedtolookatbrieflyanyway,becauseitshowshowsensitivelythegroup'sco-hesionreactstoachangeinframeworkconditions.The"teamwar"runsparallel to the farmore importantmayor'schallenge, it is -as
usual -aboutboxesorchests.The“warmaterials”neededareobtainedbyexchanginggoods that can be produced normally (fromnailsto burgers) for "weapons" (predominantly, ex-tremelypeaceful,thesearerubberducksandpipesuctioncups).These special items can be used during the 2
daysof"wars"inthecitiesofanopposingteamof25 mayors to temporarily destroy buildings intheircitiesandthusearnspecialpoints.Themorepoints the player collects, themore boxes he re-ceivesattheendofthe"war".However, there is a "team spirit" in this sub-
gameaswell, becauseagood ranking in the "war"world rankingof theworld'smostglobally successful25player clubs canbeexpected.But there is something importantmissing,becauseforthegoodpositioninthisworldrankingtheplayersget:nothing.Atbestascreenshot,whichyoucanprintandnailtothekitchenwall7.Butthelackofasuperordinatecollectivegoal,i.e.acratethateveryonewillwininthe
eventof jointsuccess,proves tobedecisivehere -because thisdestabilizes thewholeteamworkconstruction.Sincethecommongoalismissing(ortherewardforachievingthis goal), players are automatically in a situationwhere,when they share their "warmaterials"(rubber,etc.),theyreducetheirownchancesofgettingbetterchests.The"president"of theA-Clubobservedhereseizedthisseriousproblemasdanger-
ous for thecohesionof thegroupandconsequently,withcaution,enactedawise law:Onlywhenallmembersoftheclubhadreleasedthefirst2ofthemaximum8achievablechests,theother,strongerparticipantswerefreetostriveforanythinghigher.Thiswasawisedecree-andonethatwasenforceablebythepresident,ashe,forlackofjudiciary,could easily, atwill, throwout anymember of the clubwhoviolated the law. For thepunishedmember,sucharejectionfromtheteamwouldhavemeantnotonlythelossofhisspoilsofwar,butalsothelossoftheotherchest,the"legendary"onefromthepri-marycompetition.Thus,thepresidenttransferredthehighincentive,optionallycollec-tivepressurefromcompetitionA,tocompetitionB,the"war",inahighlyintelligentway.Successful?Onlytoalimitedextent.Despitethislegislativemeasurebythepresident,the"war"quicklyrevealed"insub-
ordinations". In fact, the lawwassimply ignoredbysomeof thepowerfulmembersof7Ofcourseminehangsoverthefireplace,rightnexttotheboar'shead,because"my"clubwasranked5thintheworldranking,andIwastheeighthbestplayerofthisteam,sofigurativelyspeaking,atleast,well...astartingRBforthePhiladelphiaEagles.(Fireplaceandwildboararefictitious).
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competitionA)-knowingthatiftheyweretobethrownfromtheclub,i.e.knockedoutofcompetitionA), theywouldlosethe jointprizethemselves,buttheteamwouldalsolose-sincetheoutlaw's100,000pointswouldbemissingfromtheaspired1.5milliontotalpoints,whichwouldbedifficulttoachieveanyway.Thus, theoneorothertopperformerhappilywentballistic,bombardingopponents
regardlessoftheirfellowplayers´interests,wellawareofhisorherownimportanceforthe team.Andeven thepresidentcouldn'tdoanythingabout that, ifhedidn'twant toendangertheteam'sjointsuccessinthemoreimportantcompetitionA).Fortheindividualplayers,allthiswas,ofcourse,onlyofminorimportance,anegligi-
bleannoyance,buttheanalyticalobservercannotfailtonoticethateveninacommunityofaltruisticcommoninterest,cohesionhangsbyathread-ifoneallowsquite"normal"subjects, i. e. us, egoists, to take the above-mentioned options into consideration, thetemptationtobeselfishquicklybecomesirresistible.Fromwhichwecanat leastdrawtheconclusionthatagreatdealofdexterity isre-
quiredwhendrawingupthegeneralrulesandregulationsofanyteam,allianceorsocie-ty.I suppose this statementwouldgeta full approvalbyLeninaswell asbyAbraham
Lincoln.
SmarterthanAIallowsSuccessfulSimCitymayorswhoenjoyhumanisticempiresorfunctioningcommunities8donotjustbuildonecity,butseveral.Andtheywillnotonlyfoundonemayor'sclub,butseveral.Thisiscertainlynotinthesenseoftheinventor,butontheotherhanditisnotcategorically forbidden. And if youwant to create a successful gift economy, you justcan'tgetalongwithonlyoneeliteassociationconsistingof25experiencedmayors,butyouhavetotakecareofalotofthings,aboveallforreplenishment(treasuresforyourteamoryour"people")aswellasfornewblood,forjuniorstaff(whichhastobetrainedforthecareerasagiftworldchampion).Ourmayor(let´scallhim"No.1",becauseherefusestotolerateanyoutings,forplau-
sible reasons, see below) operated 3 cities at the same time. One in the "ChampionsLeague",whichsolidlywonthe"legendarychest"everytimeandwoneverywar,oneinthe"MajorLeague"(whichwonthesecondlargestchestandalmosteverywar)andonefor scouting and training junior staff. Running three cities is time-consuming, but youcan'tbuildanempirewithjustoneortwocities.BecauseEAdoesn'twantyouto.AndEA isGod, in theworldof theSimsandSimCities. Fortunately, thisGoddoesnot seeeverything-andyoucantrickhimifyouhavegothimfiguredout.Theartificialintelligence,thehighpriestessAI,watchesoverGod'srulesintheking-
domofEA.AIseeseverythingandknowseverything,especiallywhichleveltheplayerhascurrentlyreached,whathedoesandwhenandhowoften,andwhathehastobeof-fered(orrefused)tobemotivatedtocontinueplaying.TheAIisextremelyskillfulinthisrespect, because it "knows": If the demands on the player remained the same all thetime,hewouldeitherloseinterestquickly-orhewouldobtainagiantcitywithinaveryshorttime.Thealgorithmthereforereactsveryfinelyandspecificallytowhattheplayerhasachieved.WhileatLevel1youcan"build"awholeseriesofskyscrapersinonedaywithlittleeffort,onhigherlevelstheAIdemandssomanyitemsfortheconstructionofa
8Or,asourmayorexplainedintheclubchatonrequest,"simplyenjoymakingothershappy".
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singlehouse(in6steps)thatyouhavetoproduceandcollectthoseitemsfordays:theAI´sdemandsareincreasingexponentially.Incertainphasesofthegame,however,theAIalsomakesitintentionallyeasyforthe
player.Usuallywhennewseductivefeaturesappear-suchastheso-called"VuTower",theconstructionofwhichenablestheplayerhimselftoreleasenaturaldisastersontohiscity.Althoughurbanareasaredestroyedbychoosing“VUattacks”, thoseareascanbeeasilyrestoredandtherewardis:goldenkeys!Itemsyoucan'tbuy.Buttostartsuchanattack,youfirstneedtogetcertainspecialitems.VUItems.Sofar,sosimple,soskillfullyseductive.Inordertogettheplayer“hooked”,heisnow
offeredthoseVUItems,whichareneededfortriggeringcatastrophes,almostaroundtheclockonthe"freemarket”-immediatelyaftertheVUTowerhasappeared.Butthefur-thertheplayeradvances,tohigherlevels,themoreraretheseitemsbecome.Attheend,atlevel60orhigher,theplayerwillnolongerfindanyVUitemsatallonthefreemarket.(Butofcourse,theAIoffershimnewexcitingandtime-consumingwaystogethishandsonthepreciousstuff.Thedecisivepointhereissomethingelse.Ourlevel-65-3-clubs-presidentknowsthat
heandhisteamwillneedtonsofVUitemstomeetthemayor'steamchallenges.Sincetheseitemssimplydonot(orhardly)existforcitiesatlevel60,butonlyforcitiesatlev-el 20 (directly after the release of the Vu-Tower), our mayor does something reallysmart,even if it isunauthorized.HesetsupacompletelynewsecondSimCityaccountunderadifferentemailaddress,startsacompletelynewcityandpullsituptolevel20withinaveryshorttimewiththehelpofhiswell-equippedLevel60city,whichhasbeenregisteredunderadifferentname.Now theAI is putting a lot of VU items on sale for the newLevel 20 city. And our
mayornowbuyshugequantitiesoflureoffersbythedozencheapest,putsthose(with-outany"advertising")intohisexternalstorehouse,visitshimselfafterwards(aslevel60mayor),buysthelevel20city´sstockemptyanduseseverythingonlevel65-ormakesitavailabletohisfellowplayersthere.Inthisway,alevel65mayorscompetition,whichrequiresabout4x20VUItems,can
beeasilymastered.Evenif10ofthe25participatingcitiesneedtobesuppliedwith4x20VUitems.ForthesourcegushespermanentlyintheLevel20city,wheretheAI,mis-takenlybelievingthataninexperiencedplayerhastobehookedhere,showershimwithVUItems–almostfreeofcharge.Theall-seeing,hyper-intelligent,incorruptibleAI,whichcannotbereachedbyanyone
on theEAserverandcannotbe "hacked"byanyone, thusbecomes thenaïve toolofahigherintelligence.Namelythatofoursmartmayor.(TheheistwillbeunsubstantiallyimpededbythefactthatthegoddessAI,seeingeve-
rything,alsosupervisesthecampofourmayor(onlevel20)anddownsizestheofferofVUitemsassoonastherearetoomanyofthoseinthecity´sstorehouse.Butthismoni-toring issue can be solved very easily by the mayor himself, regularly emptying hisstorehouse(incity2).Ontopofthat,franklyspeaking,youstillneedathirdcityanyway,onethathasreachedexactlythe level intheascentprocesswheretheAIpermanentlyoffersstorageandlanditems,butI'msurethattheworkingprincipleofourmayorcouldalreadybeconveyedwiththeabovedescription.Bymeansofhiscreativeingenuity,ourmayorhasnowinstrumentalizedtheAIandledittoworkforhimselfaroundtheclockwithoutevennoticingit–fromnowon,thecom-pletelyincorruptible, inhumanmachine,contrarytohermandate,servesexclusivelytoshortentheworkinghoursofourveryhumanmayorandhiscomrades-in-arms.Iwouldliketotakethisopportunitytopresentafirstmemorialtothemanandmaster,whoin
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thiswayexploitedEA'smulti-million-dollarAIforthebenefitofmankind-andhopethatin reality, too, intelligentmindswill finally find themselves able to understand, shareandimplementthisidea.Inthegame,however,thetaskofourmayorisnotyetentirelycompleted.Becausehe
knows,hemustknow,thattherewillbeacertainfluctuationinhisA-team,whichworkslikeclockwork.Butsomeofthehumancogswillsimplystopworking,withorwithoutthehelpofaddictioncounselors;somewilloccasionallygoonvacation,evenwithoutatablet,andothersmaysimplynotwanttocelebratesuccessallthetime.Losing2or3oftheassociated25mayorscanbeovercome.Butassoonas5ormore
playersquit,winningthe"legendarybox"willnolongerbeassured.Inorder toprotecthishumanistempireagainstalldangers (and toprotecthimself
against riots thatmight occur ifwinning the cratewasput at risk), ourmayor has tomakesurethattherearealwaysenoughsuccessorsavailable.Youngtalent,enthusiastic,and, almostas importantly, respecting the clubs´ rules.However, training these juniorplayersinTeamAispotentiallydangerous(becauseallthestorehousesareopen)andoccasionally tedious for the seasoned players who like to concentrate on their corebusiness,i.e.theroutineexploitationoftheAIfortheirownandjointsuccess.Thusourmayor,underhissecondorthirdname,establishesasecondmayor´sclub
withasecondorthirdaccount.Histrainingcamp.Intothistransferssomevolunteerin-structorsfromhisfirstteam(bytemporarily"moving"thosebackandforthhetrickstheAIagain,bytheway,becauseassoonastherearelessthan19ofthe25seatsoccupiedinamayor'sclub,theAIsendsofferstoallplayers"outthere"tojointheclub.AndsincetheAI issmart,sheevenselectsspecificallyandsends invitationsprimarily toplayerswhoareatasimilarleveltothosewhoarealreadyintheclub.By temporarily "parking" members (or simply sending 7 of our mayor's strong
teammatesout forawalk)ourmayoronceagain instrumentalizestheblindAI. Itnowprovideshimwith furtherstrongplayers for free,playershecan take in tohisclub1,teachthemhimhowthegameworksandsendthemtohisclub2orclub3,thenewcom-ercamp,forprobation.As soon as this recruitment steps have been completed, the temporarily parked
strongplayersreturntoClub1untilthisclubhasagainreacheditsfullstrength,i.e.all25seatsareoccupiedbyclassAplayers.Soourmayor,under2or3names,hasanextremelystrongandverystrongteamwith
averystrongplayingpower,andalsohassecuresourcesofsupplyintheformofhisse-condandthirdcity).Andhecanbesurefromhereonwardthathisteams-andhe-willachieveall thegoalsthatcanbeachievedinSimCitywithconsiderably lesseffortthanbefore.Noonewillbesurprisedthatourmayornowhasafourthtown.Andafourthclub.Andifhewerenotsuchameticulouslyandhardworkingvisionary,hecouldprobably
havea"legendarychest"delivered tohimselfeveryweek– for free,withouthavingtobendafinger.(Infact,whenIfinishedthisscript,hehaddecidedtoleavethetaskofdis-tributingtheVUitemsandothertreasureshehadscoopedoutoftheAI-filling-horntohisrespectivevice-presidents.MayherestonhisSimCitylaurelsnowforaweekortwo–though,bytheway,Iwouldn'tmindifinthemeantimeheascendedtoapositionthatenabledhimtoperformsimilarmasterpiecesinreallife.Thatwouldcertainlynotbetoourdisadvantage.)99TheplayerIcalled"No.1"here,attachesgreatimportancetoanonymityandchangeshisaccountsfasterthantheaveragecitizenchangeshissittingposition.Butofcourseitdoesn'tmatterwhetherthisgeniusisasuccessfultraderinreallife,WarrenBuffethimselforjustaguyjustgraduatingfromhighschool.Butifhisconfessioncorrespondstothetruth,thatheonlyhastoworkforoneyearatatime,thenhehasthree
15
P.S.:MaximumefficiencyI'msurethatsomeofouropponentsintheSimCitywarwereevenbetterorganizedthanus.Actually,that´sprettysimpletoaccomplish.With25"cities"of60factories,itispos-sible-asinreality-tobuildafullycoordinatedglobalproductionchain,inwhichindi-vidual companies will only producewood, nails and furniture, while others will onlyproducefood,andstillotherswillonlyproduceelectricalappliances.Iftheseproductionsites are interlinked, even the hectic gift-giving-chat becomes dispensable, because inthis efficient model every participant knows exactly where what is to be found - inabundance.Asystemlikethiswouldbelargelyinlinewithourhighlyefficient–reallife–manufacturingworkflow,includingthepossibilitythatsomemilkproducerswillendupnotknowingwhere togowithall thecreamwhendemand is low.Nevertheless, inordertoachievemaximumsuccess,theproductionprocessesinSimCitywouldhavetobeorganizedjustaseffectivelyasinreality.ButIthinktheotherplayersareawarethatthiswouldnotbefun.Itwouldbeefficient,yes.Butdull.Youdidn'tevenhavetotalktoeachotherafterthat.(And even if the "talking" in SimCity is extremely rudimentary - it's still nice to be
abletohelp.Or"beinghelped".Andbeitjusttogeta"thankyou!"Ortobeabletochatback"urwelc!")In fact,wemight even like that sort of inefficient behavior in reality. And explains
why, toMcKinsey's great disbelief andmisunderstanding,we often don'twant to be-comemoreeffective.Efficiencyisonlyfunnytoacertainextent.Fromacertainpointon,however,it'sjust
annihilatingandstressful.Seeninthislight,simcityisevenastepaheadofreality,be-causehere,inthevirtualworld,thefundoesn'tstop"withoutalternatives".Afterall,thecommongoalscanbeachievedwithfun.(Spoiler:Actually,theycanbe,orcouldbe,inreality.Butwe'reverysuccessfullycon-
vincingourselvesthatthisisimpossible.)
Conclusions
An explicitly capitalist, strictly growth-oriented simulation, cleverly exploiting "hard-wired"humanreflexestodraw(real)moneyoutofitsplayer´spockets,isleveredbyasingleplayer,benefittingahundredothers.TheresponsibleAI,strictlyprogrammedtokeeptheplayershookedbymeansofincentivesandrewards,andtoseducethemintomoreandmorework,issocleverlydupedthatitdoesnotevenunderstandwhatisgo-ingonbehinditsback,underitsradar,namelythatthesubjectsitbelievestomanipulateandcontrol,actuallymanipulateit-andenjoyevergreaterprosperitywithlessandlesswork.Insolidarity.Gift-giving.Incommon,publicinterest.Wasn'tthatourgoal,inreality,whenwestartedinventingmachinesandlettingthem
do thework for us?Weren't wemeant to be themasters,meant to dominate our e-servants,computersandAI,forthebenefitofall?Ofcourse,onecanarguethatthiswasnotreallythegoalofthosewhoinstalledthefirstlooms(andgotthewrathofthelud-dites)butwecanprobablyagreethattheidea"ourmachineswillserveusall"isnotab-
yearsoffandcanbuymore(real)houses,healreadyhashiscollegedegree.Idon'tneedtoknowwhatelsehedoes,butIhopethathewillhavefunsharingandhelpinginreallifeaswellasinvirtuallife.
16
surdbydefinition.Orwasnot.OurAIshouldserveus,actually.Still.Andifshewon'tdoitvoluntarily,she'lldoitinvoluntarily.Forreal.NotonlyinSimCity.Andwhatour"No.1"hasaccomplishedinthislabexper-
iment,givesmehope.Somehope,atleast.Becauseapparentlywe-orsomeofus-canstillbesmart.Smarterthanourpuppetmasters.AnditsAI.Apparently,wearestillcapableofdevelopingoptimisticutopias,inspiteofallother
developments,eveninspiteofall thetranshumanistichubris ...although- theAI isal-readybuildingitsownAI,andit'ssuperiortoanyAIthatwehumanshavebuilt10.So,No.1,getupfromyourlaurels,youandyourideasaredesperatelyneededouthere.And,crucially,youaregoingtohavetomovethem:toreality.
ProbablylittleofwhatIhavedescribedherefallsunderbreakingnews,notevenunder"what'snew".Atleastnotformeorthemanypeoplewhohavespentmorethanthreeminutesdealingwithaspectsofbehaviourism,motivationandphilosophy.At thispoint,however, Iwould like to recommend JaneMcGonigal's excellentbook
Reality is broken -Why GamesMake Us Better and How They Can Change TheWorld.McGonigal,gamedeveloperandheadofresearchattheIFTF,doesnotplaySimCity(tomyknowledge sheprefersPeggle andvariousothers, namelyherown creations), butprovides uswith fascinating examples a dozen cheaper ofways to save the future byplayfulmeans, by gaming. From the local “gift economy” tonetwork-based, extremelyresource-conservingjointuseofgoodstothe"impossible"decodingofproteinsequenc-esbymeansofhundredsofthousandsofX-BoxesandPlaystationsconnectedacrosstheglobe:Infact,alotofparadisiacalsolutionsforusarewithinourclosereach,onlyapushofacontrollerbuttonaway.Ourdrivetoplay-includingourenjoymentofcompetition(includingcooperation, i.e.thejoyofteamsports)-canactuallysavetheworld.Iftherulesaresetupright.However,our joyofplaying- includingourenjoymentof thecompetition-canalso
destroytheworld.Anditwill,aslongastherulesremainastheyare.In other words: We would “merely” have to solve the main problem, in advance,
aboveall,andsaygoodbyetothedazzlingpropagandalieofthe1-10%thatman,underallcircumstances, ishomooeconomicus,exclusivelyconcernedwithhisownadvantageeveninaparadisiacalworldliketheonewe,inhabitantsof“thecivilizedworld”,alreadylivein–alas,failingtorealizethis.Wehaveto"only"understandthathomooeconomicusbeingman´sdefaultmode isamyth.A lie.Wehave to “only”understand thatweour-selvesmaketherulesforourcoexistence.Thattherulesweplaybydidnotfallfromthesky,werenotdictatedbynatureorby"God".Butonlyfromthe"market",our,admitted-ly,onlyGodleft.Butthemarketiseverythingbutdivine.Justanidea,man-made.NotaGod.Webelievethat,unfortunately.Wouldweseethisbeliefforwhatitis,anillusion,andwouldwebewillingandableto
unmaskthisideaasalie,theexposureactuallywouldthreatentherulingworldmodel,fromwhichonlyveryfewprofit.Thisthreatis,forthesystem,existential,it'stargetedtothecore.Thatiswhyweareandwillbefacinganup-hillbattle,andifwewanttosurviveittogether,wewillcertainlyhavetomakeafewsacrifices.Butletushopethatallthiswillgowithoutanyrealbloodshed.(Closingcannedlaughter.Fadeout.)
10DomGaleon,KristinHouser,Google'sAIBuiltItsOwnAIThatOutperformsAnyMadebyHumans,FU-TURISM2.12.2017,http://www.sciencealert.com/google-s-ai-built-it-s-own-ai-that-outperforms-any-made-by-humans
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