Selected content-design case study | Erik Hare | 2026 The product problem An AI assistant can answer a question, but that does not tell a user what it will remember, which sources it trusts, whether a fetched page changes its knowledge, or who authorizes

Erik Hare is a Content Strategist and Designer in South San Francisco, CA, with over 20 years of experience. TLDR New technologies are often implemented from the top down, but the real value comes when they are adapted to empower from the bottom up. LLMs

Kurt Vonnegut’s 1952 novel “Player Piano” was more than his first. It was arguably the first “dystopian utopia” novel of a world carefully described and proscribed for everyone involved. Those with technical degrees were the masters of the carefully planned world, and the rest either joined the army or worked for the “Reconstruction and Reclamation Corps” building infrastructure.

When is the value of something not its true value? When you’re adding up Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of course. That may sound ridiculous, given that the rise and occasional fall of GDP is the yardstick by which we measure how we’re doin’ as an economy. Isn’t it just the sum total of all the goods and services that we produce?

Economic systems are chosen. What are the choices? Who gets to choose? In any nation with an open society, elections often turn on the state of the economy. That is the nature of political economics. But what is an economy? It is the result of decisions made years before when systems of law, finance, and employment were crafted. Those choices might have created an economy based on consumer choices, a “Tiger Model” producing industrial exports, or an oligarchy that simply enriches itself. All of these are choices that were made. Yet these nation-level decisions are small compared to the choices which run our planet. One month after troops stormed the beaches of Normandy in the final drive to win the war, delegates of all large nations gathered at the resort of Bretton Woods to win the peace. The result of that conference is the global system that the world operates to this day. Since then, technology has advanced, nations have risen, and people are more connected. Billions were lifted out of poverty. But this relentlessly industrial model has become a victim of its own success. It also is not always resilient, sustainable, or focused on the human need for dignity and happiness. Many principles of The Enlightenment guided the choices which went into this system. These include free trade, open access, and opportunity for all. There was a political and economic philosophy guiding these decisions. Yet, almost despite that, these choices were made from the top-down. As that system was chosen, a new one will be one day, and possibly soon. But who will choose? How will they choose? More importantly, will it work for everyone? If new economic and public policy choices are to be more bottom-up, we need a common language to describe the universe of possibility. Only then can we have reasoned discussion, debate and decision. This stretches far beyond a one-dimensional “left vs right” or the systemic “-isms” which are often solutions in search of problems. The choices are nearly limitless in scope, yet lie within a bounded region. It’s an almost mathematical definition of a chaotic system. Yet those choices we can make, we do make, are describable and can be made with some degree of reason. At its heart, Re-Enlightening is an optimistic call to action, a belief in the power of an informed citizenry to engage in honest debate about the future economy already taking shape around us. This book is a contribution to that essential conversation, grounded in economic possibility and human potential.

Have you received your new chip-protected credit card yet? The new cards are supposed to eliminate fraud by requiring a PIN, stored in the chip, at every purchase. As Barataria reported last year, the credit card system has to be considered completely compromised after a large number of security breeches at nearly every retailer.

Health insurance can be expensive and confusing. For many people, a health savings account (HSA) combined with high deductible insurance is a great option that is cheaper, offers tax advantages and puts the power of choice back in their hands. Health savings accounts have been called “A powerful financial tool to cover medical expenses and save for the future.” by Kiplinger Financial.

Despite new ways of paying for things, cash isn't going away. It has an important place in today's economy, particularly the most dynamic part of it – unreported income that makes up an underground economy. No matter how hard times get, people have to make a living. As regular nine-to-five jobs become more difficult to find people turn to making money where they can – and a lot of it is in cash.

Health Savings Accounts create a new model for effective, affordable health care. Health insurance is traditionally based on a "whole care" model. An insurance plan that covers every aspect of health-with a deductible for each doctor visit or health event-has been the standard for generations. Increasingly, the expense of this approach has priced it out of the market and thereby left many uninsured.

Picture yourself in England at the start of Queen Victoria’s reign. If you have some skills as a part of the growing middle class, things look better every day. That life comes in part from unskilled workers driven into the growing (and filthy) cities who are more productive than ever before. The great symbol of the improving standard of living greets you in the morning as a cup of this once luxury beverage, tea.