Blurring Real and Virtual

The vision imagines a gradual fading of the boundary between life in Harimu and life outside it. That fading happens through ordinary things – who you are, what you do, who you know – rather than through any single technology.

Identity – one persistent self

• Every person has one Harimu self, tied to one account and one nation (one-account-one-nation, see Decisions Log).
• That self accumulates a history: jobs held, votes cast, faith practiced, places lived, people known. Reputation follows from it.
• People choose how closely their Harimu self reflects who they are elsewhere. Pseudonymity is the default; linking a real identity is optional and never required to belong.
• Citizenship is a commitment. After the early switch window, changing nation is meant to be rare and meaningful (exile and asylum, post-launch).

Work and livelihood

• Citizens hold jobs in-world: labor, trade, craft, faith, media, administration under AI leaders.
• Work produces value inside each nation’s economy and currency, shaped by that nation’s system (a market in Kindle, quotas in Korund, shares in Fulmara).
• Over time, some work could be genuinely creative or skilled – designing buildings, writing in-world news, teaching, organizing communities.

Real money – an open question

Update v0.9: the direction is now set – see Real-world value. The concerns below still apply.

Whether people can earn real-world money in Harimu was originally left undecided. It is the single biggest step toward “no distinction between real and virtual,” and also the one with the most serious consequences. Before any real-money flow is designed, these areas need professional legal and regulatory review [VERIFY]:

• Money transmission and payments – moving value in and out of the world may trigger licensing obligations depending on jurisdiction.
• Securities – tradable in-world assets, shares (e.g. Fulmara’s) or currencies with real-world value could be treated as securities or financial instruments.
• Gambling – chance-based rewards with cash-out value may fall under gambling law.
• Taxes – earnings, sales and exchanges may create tax obligations for players and the operator.
• Consumer protection and minors – any real-money features interact with the 16+ age floor and with protections for vulnerable users.
• Anti-money-laundering and fraud – convertible economies attract abuse.

This page makes no legal claims; it only flags that each area must be resolved before real-money earning is considered.

Relationships and community

• Friendships, rivalries, households, congregations, workplaces and movements form inside nations and across borders.
• Shared experiences – an election night, a coup, a pilgrimage, a sanction that hits everyone’s wages – create common memory.
• Community tools (chat, news, gatherings) are shaped by each nation’s system, but basic safety and moderation apply everywhere.

Presence

• Now: a browser-based 3D world (Next.js, Three.js), on desktop and mobile. Low barrier to entry is a feature.
• Later: VR and AR as optional ways to be present, layered on the same world. Nothing about the world should require a headset.
• The world is the constant; the window into it can change.

AI residents as genuine neighbors

• AI citizens and AI leaders are part of the society, not background. They have jobs, opinions, faith and memory (growing richer over time).
• Notable AI characters can be talked to, remember you, and have their own lives.
• They are always labeled as AI. Being genuine neighbors does not mean pretending to be human.
• Humans keep primacy: AI citizens cannot outvote humans, sign petitions or join rebellions, and their combined vote is capped.