---- STEEMIT - Consciousness is Our Currency ----
Last year I had to write a paper for my degree which was quite different from all the other papers I had ever written. I was tasked with observing the social climate and was to choose anything I wanted to focus on, take a concept from the observation and project forward into the near future and comment the impacts of this concept if the events were to transpire. The purpose of this exercise was to understand that even using the scientific method and empirical data that we cannot see the future, but we can see the direction we are headed in and create a good thesis/hypothesis and plan experiments based on these understandings. It was a fun way to wrap things up at the end of the year.
The focus of my task was a comment made at The World Government Summit in Dubai in 2016, by Elon Musk regarding a Universal Basic Income (UBI) which he believes will be necessary as automation expands and unemployment becomes a greater issue worldwide, but more importantly the psychological impact this would have on the people themselves. Below is the link to the specific part of the interview with Elon Musk.
Elon Musk at World Government Summit in Dubai 2016
When the paper was completed a realization had set in, that our consciousness was the currency we trade in and that this would become more prominent in the future as traditional employment became scarcer. When we interact with anything in our environment it requires a cognitive thought process driven by conscious effort to achieve a desired outcome. In traditional employment this would mean hitting targets, performing duties, etc. However, it is consciousness which drives these processes to completion. Therefore, it is consciousness that we trade for income.
The greatest commodity any of us have is our consciousness, we trade in it each and every day, we rely on it for any degree of self-awareness, we depend on it for our very existence and self-preservation. It is the foundation of who we are as a person and is extremely valuable. No matter the amount of fortune and blessings we are given, without the conscious effort to utilize these advantages, the advantages may as well not exist. What is valuable is who you are, it is important to keep this in mind at any given moment. A line must be drawn, not between consciousness and employment, but between consciousness and existence to attain a clearer perspective of scope of the implications being discussed.
But what would this look like when traditional employment is no longer available due to automation? The paper suggests that there would be a transitional period which may be chaotic for some, but as the paradigm shifts that mankind would evolve a means of dealing with the psychological and financial impact of such a change. The means would be a focus on self-exploration to attain autonomy and congruence, Then self-expression through new mediums available in a new social climate without traditional employment. In essence we would find a way to exist, be our authentic selves, do what we love and being paid for it would be more like a bonus.
Post presentation of the paper discussions led to the means of income in this projection beyond the UBI. At the time examples such as YouTube were suggested for lack of awareness of steemit as it was only 6 months old at that time. For many the concept of being paid to “merely exist” seemed absurd or comical and in no way sustainable. The argument put forward was that one would not just “merely exist” but contribute to society via expression of self, no matter what form that would take, and that contribution would be rewarded by particular demographics which value said contribution. Enter steem and the steemit community.
Steemit has provided the platform necessary to consolidate any discrepancy in the hypothesis provided at that time. While still in its infancy Steemit supports the theory, it creates an environment where originality and authenticity is revered above all else and provides monetary gain for input in the space. it is my opinion that over time this formula will become more popular and spawn new and different variations of the platform in future creating an abundance of outlets to express oneself and acquire income through expression of consciousness. Steemit is merely the beginning of the paradigm shift and if steemit chooses to evolve as mankind does, it will pave the way for our greatest journey, the search for ones true self.
Conclusion
No one can see the future, but if we observe as much of the data available to us as we can, it is possible to get an idea of what “may” be in store. Necessity breeds creation. Steemit is in its infancy, but continues to grow every day. It may not be able to support such theories as of the writing of the paper or this article, but the model appears to be effective and gaining momentum. As we experience the paradigm shift the awareness and greater appreciation of consciousness will become paramount moving forward. Our existence matters, our experience matters, our consciousness matters… we are all given these tools, let’s put them to good use.
Interesting article! You said steemit is still in its diapers but people just assume that it would be better in the future. Well like anything in life, I think that the Pareto distribution will apply here as well. But who knows what the future holds we can only assume. Every time we have a change in the system like a bubble burst or something like the industrial revolution it creates a huge shock, but also great opportunities!
I Think that now we are observing one of those times and steemit might be our opportunity at this moment. Better not to blink :)
What i mean is that this is only the beginning, mankind will have to find a way to evolve to different means of attaining an income as traditional employment decreases. This means that over time more opportunities such as Steemit will arise and "if" steemit evolves to match the demand it will reign supreme as it will be the first and longest running platform, will have a majority of the population of users, etc. As i said in the article there is no means for telling the future we can only speculate and create a thesis/hypothesis from the observing the data available and adjusting as much as possible. What i do believe is that as long as mankind survives we will continue to evolve.
Steemit is just another avenue in the technology chain using revenue sharing to get a choke hold on the behemoths that have come before it, it will never create a level to be the cure all of all that will inflict mankind, every persons conscious has it's measures of good and bad, one would have to accept the inevitability of the exploitation of others as consciously acceptable to achieve such a goal.
What is being discussed in the article is the future of human employment and income attainment as we know it and possibility of the changes to come, not a cure all of all that inflicts mankind.
The focus on steemit in this article is; that at the time of the papers writing that there was a need for such a specific tool to consolidate this thesis and now this tool is quite prominently in existence and growing. If steemit continues to innovate and evolve it can be the tool which brings the thesis to full fruition. However, it may be superseded by any other tool providing similar better results. but again no one can see the future.
Consciousness is referenced in this article as neither good nor bad, but as the form of currency we trade in on a daily basis. the fact that conscious effort is what is rewarded, as well as punished, at any given point in time. for instance you conscious effort to read and respond to the article has netted you $0.06 for now and possibly more if others on this platform deem your comment as effectively contributing to the conversation. This is the model at work, again in its infancy. However, as mentioned necessity breeds creation. If automation has as much of an impact as Elon Musk suggests then mankind will need to shift their efforts elsewhere.
"Enter steem and the steemit community." No, enter the internet and the internet community, the social construct already existed, the possibility of
a new revenue stream to sustain oneself via their conscious effort was
already into play as utube was given as example of one being rewarded
through their conscious effort to participate and yes that "very much"
included self expression in any form that would take.
What Steemit is is the conscious effort of some guys who sat around a table
and discussed how to, like I said, get a choke hold on the market known as the internet. How could they build a market and draw consumers of that market away from the traditional platforms being offered. They built a concept out of the same concept that was the conscious motivator for them,
and others, money. They asked and solved the questions of how do we pay
billions of people and how do we get people to contribute new material
for this platform. Steemit is a supervening tool based on a desire to gain
market share not some grand design to fulfill future employment needs.
It seems to me that the only purpose of your replies is to argue points that are not relevant to the discussion being put forward here, so just to be clear i will put them in point form so you can understand.
We are all paid for our conscious efforts in traditional employment and always have been. This means, pre steemit, youtube, internet.
The paper i wrote was based on Elon Musks prediction of Universal Basic Income (UBI) to support people in the rise of unemployment in the future due to automation, the psychological impact of this, and what "employment" may look like in the future.
After presenting my findings my peers did not like YouTube as my example for various reasons. some viewed my hypothesis as missing an element. "Enter The Steemit Community", which consolidated the gap in the thesis.
Those are the facts now for my opinions stated:
So given your comments i would say its likely that you probably did not read the article, did not read the article properly or lack the ability to understand what is being stated and discussed in the article. Regardless your arguments are an exercise in futility, i have no opinion on those matters as of yet and most certainly would not consider forming any opinions to discuss with you given your approach to the data presented so far.
So a quick reiteration for you: While writing a paper i discovered consciousness is what we are paid for, the paper had a gap in it, Steemit filled that gap, consciousness matters, we all matter.
so do you have anything to say about the topics being discussed or would you prefer to continue rambling of your tangents ?
I'll tell you what, I'll post this this weekend on a philosophy blog site and ask them if this makes any sense. Most are going to tell you that the construct already existed and so did the revenue stream for self expression through the use of sites like utube. That you claiming in one paragraph that it is our conscious that drives us to employment for survival also already existed before Steemit when you said
we rely on it for any degree of self-awareness, we depend on it for our very existence and self-preservation. I am not driving at your discovery of our conscious as part of our survival I am driving at giving credit where credit isn't due...Steemit. It is just another construct within a construct to which people profit from by the conscious of self expression.
Again, you are missing the point of what i have written, let me try make it clearer via the emphasis of particular words.
My PEERS in a peer reviewed scientific setting DID NOT completely ACCEPT YouTube (due to censorship, monetisation issues, etc. ) as a good fit in the thesis. STEEMIT is a far BETTER FIT as an example in the presentation segment of the hypothesis.
What you are failing to comprehend is that my thesis presentation made YOUR ARGUMENT and it FAILED peer review. If you have any concept of what science is you will know what this means.
Steemit has been given the exact amount of credit it deserves.... for CONSOLIDATING MY THESIS.
You can post it wherever you like, and thanks for sharing my article. But here is the dirty little secret... i don't care what you think. You lack the ability to even comprehend what the article is discussing and would prefer to argue the semantics of the facts which led to the reason the article was written in the first place, therefore your opinion is simply not valid in this discussion.
Further, The paper graded well and was held in high regard despite the discrepancy of my peers being divided on this one issue. so do your worst, your actions and words can not take away what i have achieved with this paper or how i feel about those achievements.
Wow great article, very thought provoking.
The humor side of me says if consciousness is our currency, most people are very poor :P lol
With UBI it would be very interesting, people are programmed to work all their life, then retire, without having to work they could do whatever their mind allows them, but are their minds trained already against them? Lots of people think if they arent working they arent 'contributing to society'.
It will be an interesting transition. [sorry if i went off topic]
This point is covered in the paper itself, I am considering posting the paper here in future if the audience is receptive to it. There is a high suicide rate amount retirees (particularly males) and the reasoning is that their life "meaning" is derived form what they do for work. once work is "removed" from their life routine people fall into deep depression. there are psychological interventions which can be put in place to counteract these feelings when some people retire. this intervention is logotherapy, which focuses on enhancing meaning and greater purpose in life (Bohlmeijer, Westerhof & Emmerik-de, 2008; Boyle, et al., 2009; Frankl, 1992).
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Life is not only about money.
@aulnyaksyabandi, No, life is not only about money. But if you actually read the article, what is being discussed is the future of employment once there are no jobs because automation will do a majority of the jobs man does right now. The fact that consciousness is what we are paid for in any form of employment or income gain and what that may look like in future. and the paper that i wrote on this subject and how Steemit has helped consolidate an issue within that paper.