Yes, you're right. We won't just have new and more energy, but that energy will be controlled on an increasingly individual (decentralized) scale. I think there will be some control - but just not as centralized as our current infrastructure. The current transition is already happening. It is emergent in the same way the Internet was emergent in the 1980s and early 1990s. But it hasn't reached that critical mass and diffusion yet like the Internet did from 1995-2005. Soon it will. And then we will get the institutional change we want and need. EDIT: Energy is everything. The rest is detail.
Futurists talk about "Type 1 Civilizations" and "Type 2 Civilizations." I don't think those labels will apply. Energy doesn't "go away" when we use it. It simply turns into a form that's less usable. I think we'll eventually figure out how to recapture all "waste" energy. Hence, the energy available will be effectively limitless. Energy will no longer be a limiting factor, for anything. I think we'll reach that stage long before we would otherwise reach Type 2 on the Kardashev scale. It may even be engendered by the AI Singularity. Disclaimer: I'm a software engineer, not a mechanical engineer or a physicist.Energy is everything.
I think there will be an Energy Singularity, just like the predicted AI Singularity.
Agreed. This is really the point I am trying to emphasize - and have tried to emphasize in my talks about Global Brain. We can't have a singularity or a global brain without "energy singularity" (if you want to call it that). We don't get abundance and unlimited opportunity without exploiting a new and sustainable energy source. All of the "neurons" in our "global brain" require enough energy to function adequately (and by adequately I mean they should be able to do whatever they want - whenever they want (as long as they don't harm another consciousness)). Disclaimer: I want to smash things when I think about the Koch brothers.I think there will be an Energy Singularity, just like the predicted AI Singularity.
Interesting that shortly after this discussion I found this article: If they are able to use individual investor money to fund the installation of panels, it will quicken the pace of solar installations even more.SolarCity wants to raise billions of dollars in capital—from you
Whenever I see the changes occurring within our system caused by emerging tech, I can't help but think that all of these crazy future scenarios we discuss are much closer to major system changes than even radical predictions suggest. One thought that came to me last night was that our predictions for a system change may be conservative because our years are getting shorter. All this means is that more changes in a year. And by change I mean that more gets done. Our system is getting increasingly efficient. Our global conversations are happening at increasingly fast paces. And all too often people don't really factor in "the ratchet" or exponential change. When I see that Watson is now going open-source and developers are going to be able to use Watson to build all types of "Watson-apps" related to education, economics, etc. and when I see that smart phone and tablet penetration in the developing world is likely to reach full penetration before 2020... I can't help but think about the power that will be in all of our hands. Not-to-mention all of these devices will have very smart operating systems in the 2020s. Everyone will have a great doctor. Everyone will have a great teacher. And they will all learn with us and consequently be personally tailored to our needs. Basically, shits about to go down.