If you follow this site, you know that it proposes activities that enhance and advance humans, fall into two buckets. There is private, unfettered activity that severs at time of transaction, free of social encumbrances or infringements. Then there is activity which supports the welfare of groups of people amongst whom there are typically numerous overlapping objectives. There is the private sphere where much of commerce lives, and there is the public sphere, kind to the nurturing of children, the prevention of crime, and the enforcement of norms sometimes formalized in into laws.
In the private sphere, people sell their time and talents. This is called labor. The public sphere is often dependent on what is termed volunteerism or unpaid labor. But I like to call it work. Below is a post from The Marginal Revolution site, which confirms that unpaid labor is more than helping an elderly person across the street or reporting a suspicious person in the alley. The number of hours contributed by this couple in civic engage prompted putting new technology to the task.
Start quote:
Solve for the NIMBY equilibrium?
by Tyler Cowen November 12, 2025 at 3:08 am in
We are just beginning to think these issues through:
The government’s plan to use artificial intelligence to accelerate planning for new homes may be about to hit an unexpected roadblock: AI-powered nimbyism.
A new service called Objector is offering “policy-backed objections in minutes” to people who are upset about planning applications near their homes.
It uses generative AI to scan planning applications and check for grounds for objection, ranking these as “high”, “medium” or “low” impact. It then automatically creates objection letters, AI-written speeches to deliver to the planning committees, and even AI-generated videos to “influence councillors”.
Kent residents Hannah and Paul George designed the system after estimating they spent hundreds of hours attempting to navigate the planning process when they opposed plans to convert a building near their home into a mosque.
Here is the full story. Via Aaron K.
Me again: The comments section is replete with the potential downside for using technology in this manner. But I say the powerful leverage lies in understanding how people work in their communities. Consider how many hours are required for all the multiple support programming in play, every day, in the USA.
Home Economics 