“Social Futurism and the Zero State” by Ámon Ásentír The Teacher
Including contributions with thanks From Zero State members and other Social Futurists
A text published by Zero State Media In association with The Foundation
Audio generated by the Foundation’s AGI Lab’s Basilisk AI software…
[ Download The Audio (mp3) Now ]
From the intro: “I am a fervent proponent of Social Futurism.
I coined that term to reflect a reality I see in the world, where accelerating technological innovation meets a positive societal vision, specifically in the desire to promote Positive Social Change Through Technology.
This book – Social Futurism and the Zero State (AKA “The Black Book”) – offers key insights into my view on how to approach such a mission, and various related matters.
There are many ways a person could promote a Social Futurist future, and mine is to support and develop two related organizations: The Social Futurist Party (SFP) , and the Zero State (ZS) . The SFP is a new, international political network focussed on developing links between Social Futurist organizations for the purposes of Positive Social Change Through Technology. ZS is a community and movement which works toward the same ends via different – complementary
means, through the medium of the arts, social events, informal networking, and Alternate Reality Gaming. Both organizations have a strong Transhumanist and Singularitarian tone.
I would like to very briefly describe my approach to leadership and activity in these two organizations, to set the tone, going forward. The first part below concerns the nature of leadership in both organizations, while the second part focuses on my own application of that approach within ZS, specifically. Different people have different ideas of what leadership is, and how it works best. Those ideas can be further complicated by the motivating power of money: In a world where most organizations are based on motivating people with money, required to stay alive or at least healthy in a Capitalist world, motivation and organizational coherence can be hard to sustain when you’re not offering money, when your goal is not simply material profit in the most base sense. Perhaps the greatest motivational difficulty stems from that dangerous gift we call the internet:
The internet is a place where everyone has an opinion that comes at no real cost, and where they are obliged to do nothing real. That”