Your words resonate deeply with me. In my opinion, as long as the technology enables the survival of idealism, selflessness has a chance to thrive and the effects will begin to compound and push back against selfishness. It only helps when selfish behaviour, due to aligned incentives support, at the very least, the pretense of selflessness....and before you know it, the real thing is happening.
The technology offers the possibility of stable integrity over time. Given the need for specialised human societies to delegate trust....if the foundation is corrupt, the money, then everyone is brought down to zero trust and societies cease to function adequately. On the other hand, if the foundation has integrity, we can concern ourselves with layers that are further up from the foundation.
Given the centralisation of power, we all live subject to the whims of the most selfish rather than the most selfless. This new paradigm will benefit everyone, even the selfish. Eventually that will become clear I hope.
To know that people not only read what I say and like what I say but that some of them feel the same is really encouraging. Thanks for your words!
"Fake it til we make it" only offers a very small window. We will have to work very hard to bring others through that window with us. I think the best method is to simply "be awesome" like I said above, to become the best version of ourselves where selfishness and selflessness are non issues because we can be both and neither at the same time.
I feel technology is putting us in a position where we must decide very soon what kind of future humanity has. It will either be very oppressive or very liberating. It will be up to us as a collection of individuals who wish to empower themselves or who still think disempowerment is inevitable.
Let's make good stuff happen ;-)