ABSTRACT
Adam Smith’s vision of an economic future determined by a division of labor can be replaced by one determined by an accumulation and division of knowledge. In order to understand the nature and evolution of such a knowledge economy, and the role of machines within it, a comprehensive survey and discussion is given of the concepts of information and knowledge. Information, knowledge, and ma chines are considered in the context of agents interacting both with the physical world and with other agents. In a knowledge economy, information is seen as the currency of agency, and objective knowledge as the capital of a society of agents. The future of machines in a knowledge economy, and their relationship to human agents, is considered in terms of the growth of objective knowledge and the conse quent development of knowledgeable and intelligent machines.