Synthetic Economy

Synthetic Economy

Synthetic economy is the term to describe an economy cut from whole cloth. Designed fro mthe bottom up or top-down in every detail, and fully functioning before the first person uses it. It is entirely created, and in no-way natural. This perfectly describes the initial economy states found in most virtual worlds. There is no geographic, or political engine driving them, they are created as products from the get go.

After initial formation of course, they tend to deform organically to supply and demand, like any other economy system.

Below, we offer a selection of links from our resource databases which may match this term.

Synthetic Economy Virtual Economy

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A Fourth Economy
In less than 20 years, the service economy is being replaced with a new model, the 'Experience Economy', a model in which, whilst there is still a place for services, they are not the main act of the economy. Instead, what is is the provision of experiences, memes, sensory indulgances, and a deeply personal and individual type of service.

Dark City: A Dystopian Synthetic World
Plotline Review of the film Dark City, a dystopian synthetic reality storyline which questions deeply the nature of self, and of reality.

Second Life: Virtual Economy Key Metrics, Feb 2007
A compilation of key metrics for Second Life population data, released by Linden Labs for anyone desiring to set up within this environment. Data is in Excel format.

Cities XL
Gameindustry.biz take a look at Cities XL, Monte Cristo's ambitious product, attempting to combine a traditional city-simulation game with massively multiplayer online functionality, giving players the option to take part in a global, entirely player-dependent global economy.

Synthetic Brain to Aid Research
In what is certainly initially seems like a novel twist on logic, researchers from UC Irvine are utilising a robot outfitted with an artificial mind, to help them understand how the human brain works.

Book Quotes: Net Coma
When a person becomes truly totally immersed in any VR environment, their physical body almost ceases to be a part of them. The more senses are subsumed by the synthetic reality, the less connection the brain feels to the original body.

Does Function Have to Follow Form in Prosthetics?
Why do prosthetic body parts have to limit themselves to copying the original organic components? When a large part of a person's body is synthetic, shouldn't they be free to express it, however they choose?

Podcast: Juan Enriquez: Beyond the crisis, mindboggling science and the arrival of Homo evolutis
Juan Enriquez' humorous talk from TED 2009, meandering through the state of the economy, developments in stem cells, tissue cloning and robotics - and how they are all connected. Very funny, very poignant. It will not say anything you do not already know, if you have kept up with transhumanist work, but serves as a nice, low barrier introduction.

Stretchable Tactile Sensors
Wouldn't it be marvellous if artificial pressure sensors could bend and flex like their organic counterparts? If synthetic skin could knead and twist like normal skin, but remain just as keen of sense? We are not there yet, but the first prototypes that can behave naturally under strain, are already here.

Large Image Display: Animatrix: The Second Renaissance: Economy of AI
As robot made goods continue to undercut other goods, eventually it reaches the stage where goods made without the use of robots, cannot compete. We saw foreshadowing of this in the 1980s with factory ?robots? that admittedly were nothing more than brainless waldoes operating from a central computer. However, we are starting to see it again as manufacturing robots increase in complexity.

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