2020 Theory A three-stage approach over the course of three decades to ensure humans thrive on a pathway to "Civilization Type One" (CT1 definition). Year 2020 was the beginning. It's the moment when the Earth stood still; and simultaneously when many artificial intelligence software programs surpassed exponential data inflection points while teaching themselves and writing their own algorithms based on programmed boundaries and observable patterns (such as human online behavior and the Internet of Things). Stage One of 2020 Theory is called "The Alpha Bet." It involves transforming patterns and human behaviors to passively train young A.I.s to perpetuate ecological abundance, global peace, and individual human welfare. 

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2nd order consequences (a.k.a. Second-Order Effects) are outcomes that are different than the first desired outcome yet are directly related to the initial decision. Every decision has a consequence and each consequence has another consequence. 

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Astroturfing The practice of masking the true sponsors of a message or organization to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participants.

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Agnotology The study of culturally induced ignorance or doubt, particularly the publication of inaccurate or misleading scientific data. 

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Agritopia A community-centered lifestyle in rural areas with shared socioeconomic pathways at a local level designed to support local agriculture and simplicity as an overarching ethos. 

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AgTech Agricultural Technology such as field crop sensors to use exact amounts of water and energy, or to analyze soil health.

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Alpha Agreement A modern refinement of the “Social Contract” theory which describes how a diverse and complex society can function in peace and prosperity. It's an overarching societal agreement that all humans should have certain rights (no matter what), and how these inalienable rights can be maintained and nurtured in harmony with political authority. One requirement is that businesses and governments operate according to the will of the people and not the other way around.

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Alpha Bet A prediction that old social norms, government powers, and business methods are coming to an end and a new set of rules and systems will emerge before year 2030. The reason for this massive transformation is a simultaneous acceleration of global interdependence, environmental solutions, and smart technologies (such as automation and machine learning). The risk is if too many old undesirable concepts are codified into the new way of operating and perpetuate systemic problems. The Alpha Bet is a call to action to mitigate this risk by empowering individuals to apply more of their personal time and resources to contribute to the design of a new and improved world with narrowing inequality gaps and abundant planetary resources. 

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Alpha Challenges Beginning to challenge oneself or a friend to change his or her normal routine and take action to change the world. The three "D"s to change the world is DEMAND (such as at retailers, on social media, and at work); DECLUTTER (such as reducing waste, blocking advertisements, and spending less on new products); and DEMONSTRATE (such as contacting leaders as a united front, volunteering more, and making wellness a priority).

 

Alpha Generation People born between years 2010 and 2025 who are born into this world of unparalleled technological power, greater global perspectives and heightened socially responsible awareness. (Can also refer to exponential technologies developed during the same period of 2010 to 2025).

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Alpha Habits A new habit that makes your life and the world better in some way; and is designed to become permanent. The Alpha Habit method is to systematically focus on achieving healthy mind, spirit, body, network, presence, and then finances --- in that order.

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Alpha Influencer A person who consciously changes their perceptions, finances, lifestyles, surroundings, workplaces, and citizenship behaviors in a way that diverges from 20th century concepts. The purpose of a human Alpha Influencers is to cause artificial intelligence technologies (such as business marketing, intelligence, and analytics A.I. software) to adapt its algorithms to support true human wellness, peace, progress and prosperity. 

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Alpha Values The 12 predominant human values common among many religions, cultures, and philosophies that must also be programmed into artificial intelligence source code whenever possible: self-control, perseverance, forgiveness, happiness, variety, loyalty, courage, truth, love, health, patience, and respect.  

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Alpha Vision The practice of perceiving the world and your internal thoughts in a new way. Accepting that the future is not predetermined, there is more good than bad in the world, and there are countless ways to improve almost any situation. Alpha Vision requires an open mind to ideas that oppose your core beliefs, and to consciously self-acknowledge mental shortcuts (such as implicit bias or social proofing). Having Alpha Vision allows one to easily find more alternatives and seek opportunities whenever presented with a limitation or obstacle in life. 

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Anthropocene A period of time (2.6 million years ago to the present), characterized as the time in which the collective activities of homo sapiens began to substantially alter Earth's surface, atmosphere, oceans, and systems of nutrient cycling.

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Attention Economy The theory that the attention span of online users is a limited commodity that is subject to market forces.

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Augmented Reality (AR) An overlay of computer-generated content on the real world that can superficially interact with the environment in real-time.

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Backcasting A planning method that starts with defining a desirable future and then works backwards to identify processes that will connect that specified future to the present.

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Biohacking Biological experimentation (as by gene editing or the use of drugs or implants) done to improve the qualities or capabilities of living organisms especially by individuals working outside a traditional medical research environment.

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Biomimicry The science of applying nature-inspired designs in human engineering and invention to solve human problems.

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Blockchain A system in which a record of transactions (such as smart contracts or cryptocurrency) are maintained across several computers that are linked in a peer-to-peer network. 

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Business Carbon Tax A fee that a government imposes on any company that burns fossil fuels. The most widely discussed are coal, oil, gasoline, and natural gas. 

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C-Suite A term used to describe corporate officers and directors. The term is derived from the use of the letter C in most high-level positions, such as Chief Operating Officer. 

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Civilization Type One (CT1) A civilization which has mastered and can fully control its planetary energy, information and resources in a way that provides for continued regeneration and distribution systems that support an ever-improving lived experience for all of its inhabitants while managing and mitigating any existential threats. Other theories on Civilization Type One have been proposed by the World Future Society, the Venus Project, Game B, Carl Sagan, and the Kardashev Scale.

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Cognitive bias An error in our thinking process that affects our decisions making. As humans, we don't always see things as they really are, or remember things as they really were. As a result, we create our own "subjective reality" that affects our judgment. Exploitation of this human vulnerability is capitalized in various marketing strategies.

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Constructs Any theoretical concept, structure or rule that began as an idea and developed into a generally agreed upon system within a group or society at a given time. Examples include social networks, business and economic systems, and political frameworks.

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Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) A self-regulating business model that helps a company be socially accountable — to itself, its stakeholders, and the public.

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CRISPR (a.k.a. CRISPR-cas9) is a gene editing technology that can alter an organism's DNA with a bacteria that can pinpoint and destroy or replace precise DNA sequences. *Notably: The Human Genome Project (HGP), the first whole human genome sequencing in 2000,  cost over $3.7 billion and took 13 years of computing power. Today, it costs roughly $1,000 and takes fewer than three days which has allowed CRISPR technology to be affordable.

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Crowd Intelligence A shared or group intelligence that emerges from the collaboration, collective efforts, and competition of many individuals and appears in consensus decision making. 

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Data Exhaust (a.k.a. Dark Data) refers to the trail of data left by the activities of individuals or businesses  which is not used to derive insights or for decision making, but the data could hold patterns and predictive solutions (such as computer operations, transactions, online behaviors, geospatial and time data).

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Decentralization The spread of power away from one centralized authority or entity such as a bank, a large business or a government.

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Decision Fatigue The deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual when faced with too many choices.

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Deepfake A technique for human image synthesis based on artificial intelligence. It is used to combine and superimpose existing images and videos onto source images or videos with a high potential to deceive. 

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Dopamine Fasting (a.k.a. stimulus control) a mindfulness practice to abstain from anything that brings pleasure in order to better appreciate and acknowledge dopamine triggers. Typically involves making a concerted effort, in a set amount of time, to avoid social media and TV.

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Economies of scale Reduction in cost per unit resulting from increased production, realized through operational efficiencies.

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Emerging Technologies 21st century technologies reshaping life as we know it. Examples include: quantum computing, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Extended Reality (XR), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), drones, 3D printing, smart sensors, smart contracts, autonomous vehicles (AV), alternative fuel, biometric ID, synthetic biology, bioprinting, Voice-user Interface (VUI), Brain-computer Interface (BCI), and MUCH more. *Notably includes new tech industries: PropTech (property), FinTech (financial), EdTech (education), FemTech (female), MadTech (Marketing), InsurTech (insurance), WealthTech, LegalTech, FoodTech, AgeTech . . . you get the trend.

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Experiential learning The process of learning through physical experience in a real-world setting using as many of the five senses as possible for greater learning retention. 

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Extended Reality (XR) (a.k.a. cross reality) is an all-encompassing term for technologies that bring digital objects or sensations into the physical world (Real Reality - RR) or vice versa. Examples include Mixed Reality, Virtual Reality, Cinematic Reality and Augmented Reality, Cyborg Intelligence, wearables and sensory interface technologies.

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Flock technology (a.k.a. swarm intelligence) it is the collective behavior of decentralized, self-organized technology, natural or artificial to work together and share information within a digital "mesh network." Examples include drone coordination and simultaneous localization and mapping (S.L.A.M.) technology for autonomous vehicles.

 

Freedom of Attention Coined by Dr. James Williams, co-founder of Time Well Spent campaign, it is the belief that technology should be designed to improve our lives and help its user achieve their goals . . . NOT to achieve more clicks or engagement with the technology itself.

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Globalization 4.0 Term coined at the World Economic Forum Davos 2019 summit describing the complete digitization of the social, the political, and the economic—changing the way that individuals relate to one another and to the world at large. 

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Governing the Commons When a shared natural resource is governed to allow for collective common good and regeneration rather than self-interest and resource depletion. Coined by Nobel Prize Winner and Economist, Elinor Ostrom.

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Great Wealth Transfer The period of time between 2020 and 2040 during which 45 million U.S. Baby Boomers are presumed to transfer more than $60 trillion of wealth (collectively) to their children. 

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Green Certification Any number of certifications for social responsibility and particularly environmental sustainability. See examples at www.3talliance.org/certs.

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Greenwash Disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image.

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Happy Chemicals The four neurotransmitters in our brains most often associated with feelings of happiness: Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin and Endorphins (DOSE).

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Hashgraph An algorithm to record transactions with a time stamp similar to blockchain but faster. The major difference is blockchain technology is designed to be purely public open source and decentralized while hashgraph is a patented and private algorithm. 

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Hedonic treadmill (a.k.a. hedonic adaptation) the tendency of humans to make purchase decisions that give temporary dopamine increase, and then the purchase quickly loses its value in personal happiness and becomes an object of clutter.

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Id In Freudian theory, the division of the psyche that is totally unconscious and serves as the source of instinctual impulses and demands for immediate satisfaction of primitive needs.

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Incentive Insensitivity Coined by Dr. Vivienne Ming, it is a form of internal motivation to act regardless of external factors like money or reward. It is a necessary component for successful athletes to "get in the Zone."

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LEDC “less economically developed country,” which are those that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development and low "Human Development Index" ratings.
 

MEDC “most economically developed countries,” which are sovereign states that have a developed economy and advanced technological infrastructure.

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Moore’s Law Named after Intel co-founder Gordon Moore, states that processor speeds, or overall processing power for computers will double every two years, meanwhile costs will reduce to the consumer, and this trend would continue for the foreseeable future.

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Non-governmental organizations (NGO) are organizations independent of any government. They are usually non-profit, and many are active in humanitarian or social areas.

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Natural Capital The world's stocks of natural assets which include its geology, soil, air, water and all living things. It is from this natural capital that humans derive a wide range of services, often called ecosystem services, which make human life possible.

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Network effect The effect described in economics and business when the value of a product or service increases according to the number of others using it.

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Oligopoly A market in which control over the supply of a commodity is in the hands of a small number of producers.

 

Overshoot and Collapse Theory (similar to "Malthusian catastrophe") occurs when a population's demand on an ecosystem exceeds the capacity of that ecosystem to regenerate the resources. One example is the ecological collapse of the original inhabitants on Easter Island. 

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Pigouvian Taxes A tax on any market activity that generates negative externalities. The tax is intended to correct an undesirable or inefficient market outcome.

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Placemaking Part of the "maker movement," it is a multi-faceted approach to the planning, design and management of public spaces with the intention of promoting community health, happiness, and well-being.

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Planned Obsolescence A legal practice (in U.S.) and policy of certain businesses that produce consumer goods that rapidly become obsolete due to frequent changes in design, termination of the supply of spare parts, and the use of nondurable materials.

 

SDGs The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed in 2015 and adopted by all United Nations Member States, are a call for action by all countries to promote prosperity while protecting the environment.

 

Sharing Economy An economic model defined as a peer-to-peer (P2P) based activity of acquiring, providing, or sharing access to goods and services that is often facilitated by a community-based online platform.

 

Sin-stinct Human instincts often identified as one of the “seven deadly sins” known as pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. These are also signal emotions that at one point had an evolutionary purpose, but may no longer be useful in the 21st century. 

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Sixth Mass Extinction An ongoing extinction event of species during the present Holocene epoch as a result of human activity. The included extinctions span numerous families of plants and animals. *Notably, this extinction is happening at a faster rate than all other mass extinction events before on Earth.

 

Smart city An urban area that uses different types of electronic Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to collect data and then use insights gained from that data to manage assets, resources and services efficiently.

 

Smart Contracts Transactions and agreements facilitated by a digital blockchain ledger and often carried out among disparate, anonymous parties without the need for a central authority, legal system, or external enforcement. 

 

Social Capital Any activity considered good for society. Often refers to a form of measuring levels of trust, cooperation, sharing, volunteering, and relationship building.

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Social Conscription A government mandated enrollment into authorized philanthropic organizations with limitations as to whom is required to enroll, such as age range and physical ability.

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Social Credit A doctrine that the capitalist system does not distribute sufficient income to keep itself in operation; and must issue national dividends, free basic needs services, and/or a monetary equivalent distributed in exchange for participation in activities deemed good for society.

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Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Identifying and preemptively improving neighborhood environments, economic stability, education, access to medical care, and behaviors toward health on a hyperlocal and individual basis. 

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Social Engineering The act of exploiting human weaknesses to gain access to personal information or to psychologically manipulate people into performing actions.

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Social Proofing (a.k.a. behavioral contagion) is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others in an attempt to reflect correct behavior for a given situation. Typically an instinctual decision rather than a conscious decision. 

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Systems thinking The opposite of "binary thinking." It involves several iterations of an idea and considers the way that a system's components interrelate, over time, and within a larger system. One example is "human centered design thinking."

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Technology Tax A fee that a government imposes on any company that replaces a significant number of human workers with technology, such as machine learning software or robotic process automation (RPA).

 

Tier 3 and Tier 4 businesses The theory by George Basile, Senior Sustainability Scientist at ASU, that the next generation of business are founded on sustainable principles. Dr. Basile has identified an evolution of businesses from Tier 1 (such as focused on growth and profit within immediate bounds of business) to Tier 4 (such as using sustainability as an advantage within a global system that can reshape society).

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Time banks One form of social capital measurement. A reciprocity-based work trading system in which hours are the currency.

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Triple Bottom Line (TBL) An accounting framework with three parts: social, ecological, and financial. Some organizations have adopted the TBL framework to evaluate their performance in a broader perspective to create greater business sustainability and value.

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Virtual Nation (VN) Online (or Extended Reality) communities that spend money, time, volunteering, data, or social capital cryptotokens in exchange for citizenry. Citizenship can include an array of benefits such as cybersecurity, education, transportation partnerships, guaranteed highest quality products, food and water security, crime and property insurance, no interest loans, and emergency safe havens like micronations or bunkers.

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Virtual Reality (VR) A fully immersive computer-generated experience using purely real-world content (360 Video), purely synthetic content (Computer Generated), or a hybrid of both typically viewed through special VR goggles along with wearable technology. 

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Wisdom of Crowds The idea that large groups of people are collectively smarter than individual experts when it comes to problem-solving, decision making, innovating and predicting.

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Zero-point Energy The lowest possible energy that a quantum mechanical system may have. Harnessing this energy would mean generating power from the moving molecules; and even moving protons, electrons, and neutrons from any surface, object, or being.

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