#11 A Celebration Society – with Jonathan Kolber

The Chameleons Podcast

In this episode, we meet Jonathan Kolber, an author and investor, with a fascinating idea for raising the experimental and disruptive approach of Silicon Valley to the level of society itself, albeit tempered by consensual values. Jonathan shares his vision of science-driven model society, based on ever-evolving systems, which he and his allies call A Celebration Society.

We discuss the depth of the challenges and opportunities humanity faces, including sustainability, automation, and job displacement, rising fascism, the need for first principles thinking, a pay-it-forward approach to progress, and his detailed proposal of a comprehensive solution that celebrates human greatness to inspire more greatness, encouraging and building upon humanity’s finest qualities.

I hope Jonathan's intellectual courage and curiosity can inspire us to think about the abundance we can achieve with emergent technologies and to think boldly about creating societies that celebrate our full potential.

Thank you to our sponsor Nomono: https://nomono.co/

Timestamps: 01:54:08

[00:00:00] Intro of the episode.

[00:02:57] Sponsor: Nomono Podcasting Kit.

[00:03:50] Growing up with a vision.

[00:05:48] Interest in nature, science, and finance.

[00:09:50] The purpose of A Celebration Society.

[00:11:18] Accelerating automation, its consequences, and the role of AI.

[00:19:11] The future of job losses and the replacement of functions by AI.

[00:22:10] A model society based on systems of sustainable technological abundance

[00:24:41] Protecting our planet with technological abundance and true recycling

[00:27:09] The essence of A Celebration Society and the scientific method.

[00:28:28] Three pillars: Abundant clean energy, abundant matter, and organizing intelligence.

[00:32:32] The potential of recent advancements in scalable sources of clean power.

[00:34:29] Universal Basic Income approaches, capitalism, and future human endeavors.

[00:40:28] Asteroid mining.

[00:41:57] Future education, cultivation of passions, gamification and iTutors.

[00:49:54] Current illness focused healthcare models.

[00:49:54] Healthcare in A Celebration Society: emphasis on prevention and early detection.

[00:54:20] The four branches of government in A Celebration Society.

[01:01:48] The admission process in A Celebration Society: The code of ethics, The Rite of Passage, The Charter, and financial means.

[01:09:25] Meeting basic needs and curtailing the appeal of charismatic manipulators.

[01:12:20] Adjustable systemic societal design, including nudges to reduce costs and incentivize desired behaviors.

[01:19:15] Animal welfare and Kobe beef prime rib cuts from a vat for the price of a McDonald's hamburger.

[01:21:00] Complimentary currencies and global economic stability.

[01:23:05] The use of uninhabited land and reduction of taxes.

[01:26:30] Celebration societies in space and the hard science fiction series, Shadowking.

[01:29:23] The necessity of legal sovereignty.

[01:34:56] Potential challenges to success and serious criticisms.

[01:44:34] Definition of happiness.

[01:47:37] Early experiences shaping a deeper understanding of scarcity.

[01:49:08] The importance of collaboration and supporters.

[01:52:34] Outro and concluding remarks.

Recommended reading:

Kolber, J. (2015). A Celebration Society. https://www.amazon.com/Celebration-Society-Jonathan-Kolber-ebook/dp/B018RQTUNQ

A Celebration Society Website: acelebrationsociety.com