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.