Questions People Ask

1. Is this communism? Will you take my things?

No. Existing property stays with its owner, markets and private property stay, and nobody has to join. The floor for everyone would be public, like the NHS; the commons above it is optional. Centricity (a name for the concept) is a way to transition into a fairer social world as stewards of the planet.

2. Who are you, and who are you accountable to?

I am Devon Summerhayes, a lifelong humanitarian simply attempting to find solutions to our biggest problems, and as a carer of the planet, that too. At the moment these are my own working drafts and I answer to the people who read and test them. Any pilot would be reviewed independently and could be paused or wound down.

3. Why did you use AI to make the text and video?

I used AI to assist in design and creation because it's a powerful tool that can help get big ideas out more quickly to the public.

4. Are the pictures and videos real places?

They are AI-made illustrations, not real streets or places. The content of the videos is from AI's design when prompted specifically as to what to create.

5. Haven't local currencies and bartering schemes failed before?

Some have. Local exchange schemes like Brixton's faded for reasons their own organisers describe: easy credit made them seem unnecessary, the records depended on a few volunteers, what was on offer was lopsided, and they grew too big for people to know each other. Centricity works differently in two ways. Everyone who joins gets an equal base share rather than only what they can earn by trading, and the basics come from a shared fund rather than the currency. It also starts with small pilots meant for independent review, and can be stopped. I don't claim that solves everything. Whether people have enough to spend on, and the admin load, are things a pilot has to test.

6. What happens to what you're owed or owe if you leave?

Anyone is free to leave, and that right can't be voted away. What happens to a leaver's balance and credits isn't settled yet. A pilot has to decide it and publish it before it starts.

7. Who pays for the basics? Can the fund cover it?

A shared fund pays, built from charges for using shared land and homes, returns from shared enterprise, and, later, large balances gradually flowing back. What flows back is the shared currency, not pounds, so it cannot pay rent, fuel, council tax or insurance. It starts at what the fund can sustain and a level is only added once it is covered, with a reserve behind it. Each cycle the cost and the income are published side by side, so anyone can check. On its own the fund can carry only a thin floor; a floor for everyone would be public, like the NHS.

8. Won't an equal share lead to free riding or rising prices?

Some people will take without giving in any system, so the design doesn't depend on everyone's goodwill: hours of service are verified by the people served, with sample audits, and credits are capped, expire and can't be traded for currency, so taking gains little and giving is visible. A pilot records the share who take without giving, rather than calling it failure. How large that share is remains unproven. On prices, the design would hold the currency steady against a public index of everyday goods, with each adjustment and its reasons published. Centricity's own stress test found that an index alone cannot hold its value, so the currency is deferred.

9. Is an equal share unfair to people who work harder?

Earnings from work and enterprise add to the equal share, so working harder still pays. The equal share is a base, not a ceiling. Only very large balances gradually flow back to the shared fund, and money invested in businesses and long-term projects is unaffected.

10. Why would wealthy people or businesses join?

Nobody has to. Markets stay, and money invested in businesses stays available, so there is no loss of what already works. I don't have a complete answer to why the wealthy would choose to join. It is one of the things pilots have to test, and I'd rather say so than pretend.

11. Won't power end up concentrated anyway?

Power over the currency is split across regional issuers, two councils, an audit body and rotating stewards, none of which holds all of it. Every body serves a fixed term, publishes its reasons and can be challenged in an independent court. Whoever checks a body doesn't run it, isn't paid by it, and can pause it. No design is immune, which is why it is built to be checked and corrected.

12. Aren't councils chosen by lot unqualified?

They are drawn by lot from qualified candidates, balanced to reflect the community, paid and trained, much like jury service. They serve fixed terms and publish their reasons, and their decisions can be challenged in court.

13. Isn't this utopian? How can it be tested?

By starting small and optional. Each pilot publishes its goals and measures in advance. The full design compares each pilot with similar neighbourhoods not taking part and has it reviewed independently, deciding whether it continues, changes or winds down. The first Commons Circles are run by volunteers, and outside review is still being sought.

14. Can AI evaluators really be trusted?

Not on their own, and that is how it is designed. Several overlapping independent evaluators check powerful technology, and any one of them can hold back release. Their findings say "no dangerous capability found under these tests", never "safe". Decisions about a person's home, income or rights are made by people. This design is still a working draft, and I am looking for AI safety specialists to test it.

15. Is this socialism?

Markets and private property stay. What's added is a shared commons alongside them, and you choose whether to take part.

16. What happens to people who don't cooperate?

Nobody is required to join. If someone harms others or nature, the person harmed is heard first, and the first response is to repair the damage, with fair, proportionate steps if it continues and a right of appeal. Serious violence is met with time-limited, reviewed protective care. Punishment that turns someone into an outsider tends to produce the next harm, so nobody loses their standing as a person. Where someone outside the system causes harm, ordinary law applies.

17. How can I help?

To help, or for any other questions you may have, email me at devon.summerhayes@gmail.com and I'll be sure to get back to you swiftly.