Merit

Merit is the non-transferable measure of recognized contribution that gates access to Frontier opportunities. It cannot be bought, sold, or inherited and decays at roughly 3.41% annually (20-year half-life) unless committed to a project-specific trust to lock value for long-term goals.

Validation mixes quantitative AI assessment for measurable impacts and Diversity Guard review for qualitative work. Merit influences access to scarce resources–longevity treatments, mission seats, strategic votes–but never affects Baseline guarantees. This separation prevents coercion and preserves dignity independent of productivity.

Designing Merit addresses Goodhart risks, prevents dynastic accumulation, and encourages ongoing contribution. It borrows from reputation systems, decaying influence models, and trust-weighted voting research.

References

• UnscarcityBook, chapter1 and chapter2
• IEEE S&P, “Reputation Systems” (2007)
• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Distributive Justice (2022)