Many, many nonprofits are remarkably inefficient at solving the problems they're aimed at. They're so universally inefficient that the only explanation is that there is some sort of structural flaw inherent to them as a type of organization.
A basic survival-of-the-fittest idea applies to any and all organizations. At their core, any organization has the purpose of perpetuating its own existence- those that don't will obviously cease to exist. As such, the primary focus of any nonprofit is to raise enough money to perpetuate itself, not to attack whatever problem they say they're going to. This is where the inefficiency arises. Any nonprofit has to siphon off funds aimed at its problem for itself.
Another interesting thing to note- think about it. If any nonprofit were to actually solve their problem, they as an organization would cease to exist. Without the existence of breast cancer, the giant Susan G Komen (among others) would have nothing to raise money off of. These organizations actually have a pretty large incentive to not actually solve the inherent problem.
Of course, some might ask "So what? At least some money is going towards the problem, and there's not a better way to do it." Well, there is. I realize the references to Elon Musk and Tesla Motors are getting old on this blog, but I';; bring them up any way. Modeling off of the story of Elon Musk, I like to think of something I call Social Capitalism as a far more efficient method of tackling social problems. I wanted to cal it Philanthro-Capitalism, but that was taken.
Tesla Motors was founded off of an ideological motivation (similar to a nonprofit) to create sustainable transportation off of renewable fuels. His other company, SpaceX, was founded on the ideological goal of eventually making human life multi-planetary by establishing a foothold on Mars. Solar City was founded to promote green energy consumption.
The key to all of these, is that the business product is the solution to the social problem. They don't waste time with "awareness campaigns" or fundraisers, they actually solve the problem by creating a product that does so. In this manner they properly align their incentives- perpetuating themselves means selling their product to the public, the use of which means solving the social problem.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Witnessing History Part 2: 3D Printing
I think I was supposed to do a part 2 for a different posting, but whatever. This is my blog, I do what I want. This post was based off a conversation I had with a friend who worked with 3D printing over the summer, where I again had a vision of the future that I thought i'd share with you.
Most people think of 3D printing as a cool niche technology while the most bullish people see it as a way to revolutionize factory production (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNqs_S-zEBY). I don't think that anyone fully appreciates what this technology will mean for our future.
To get a taste of what I'm talking about, I'll introduce a guy named Cody Wilson whose nonprofit firm has created a downloadable blueprint for an operational 3D printed gun. Now this guy is kind of a douchebag, but that doesn't mean that what he's done isn't important. Its obviously raised a huge debate regarding gun control. After all, how can you regulate what anyone can just print out?
If Cody Wilson's story doesn't alarm you enough, my vision of the future takes it one giant leap further. The friend that I had this discussion with worked with 3D printing centrifuges primarily for spinning biological materials. That concept blew my mind. Centrifuges are the primary mechanism for refining Uranium (a relatively abundant and easy-to-access element) into its isotope Uranium-235, the key component for nuclear weapons. He assured me that 3D printing can't print those types of centrifuges, but if you've seen the youtube link I posted above, I think you'll agree with me in saying that it'll be there soon.
Think about that. 3D printed nuclear weapons. Now obviously there are concerns regarding states like Iran and North Korea, but this tech is so readily available that it can be accessed by non state actors too, including Hamas, Al Qaeda, and any separatist/radical group in the world. Anyone can have the power of a nuclear bomb 3D printed in their basement. This might be a somewhat simplification of the process, but the threat is real. And I'm not crazy, I swear.
On an more uplifting note, think about the implications of 3D printing biological materials. The medical implications- 3D printing new limbs, organs, and blood, obviously being a great way to heal injured people, but also a way to erase the damage of any genetic deficiencies.
And here's where it gets weird again. Think about 3D printing biological enhancements for already-healthy humans. What about 3D printing eyes that can see the entirety of the electromagnetic spectrum. What about augmenting human muscle and organ performance to make what we'd consider super human into just human. I'm sure there are more implications for what I'm talking about, but I think what I've ranted about so far is sufficiently close to making you all think that I'm a crazy person, so I'll stop.
Again, no the technology is not there yet. But thats the whole point of this blog post. One day it will be. We're witnessing the birth of a new technology that'll change humanity forever.
Most people think of 3D printing as a cool niche technology while the most bullish people see it as a way to revolutionize factory production (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNqs_S-zEBY). I don't think that anyone fully appreciates what this technology will mean for our future.
To get a taste of what I'm talking about, I'll introduce a guy named Cody Wilson whose nonprofit firm has created a downloadable blueprint for an operational 3D printed gun. Now this guy is kind of a douchebag, but that doesn't mean that what he's done isn't important. Its obviously raised a huge debate regarding gun control. After all, how can you regulate what anyone can just print out?
If Cody Wilson's story doesn't alarm you enough, my vision of the future takes it one giant leap further. The friend that I had this discussion with worked with 3D printing centrifuges primarily for spinning biological materials. That concept blew my mind. Centrifuges are the primary mechanism for refining Uranium (a relatively abundant and easy-to-access element) into its isotope Uranium-235, the key component for nuclear weapons. He assured me that 3D printing can't print those types of centrifuges, but if you've seen the youtube link I posted above, I think you'll agree with me in saying that it'll be there soon.
Think about that. 3D printed nuclear weapons. Now obviously there are concerns regarding states like Iran and North Korea, but this tech is so readily available that it can be accessed by non state actors too, including Hamas, Al Qaeda, and any separatist/radical group in the world. Anyone can have the power of a nuclear bomb 3D printed in their basement. This might be a somewhat simplification of the process, but the threat is real. And I'm not crazy, I swear.
On an more uplifting note, think about the implications of 3D printing biological materials. The medical implications- 3D printing new limbs, organs, and blood, obviously being a great way to heal injured people, but also a way to erase the damage of any genetic deficiencies.
And here's where it gets weird again. Think about 3D printing biological enhancements for already-healthy humans. What about 3D printing eyes that can see the entirety of the electromagnetic spectrum. What about augmenting human muscle and organ performance to make what we'd consider super human into just human. I'm sure there are more implications for what I'm talking about, but I think what I've ranted about so far is sufficiently close to making you all think that I'm a crazy person, so I'll stop.
Again, no the technology is not there yet. But thats the whole point of this blog post. One day it will be. We're witnessing the birth of a new technology that'll change humanity forever.
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