American Information Exchange
Encyclopedia
The American Information Exchange (AMIX) was a platform for the buying and selling of information, goods and services as well as the exchange of information, ideas, and certain kinds of intellectual work product, created by economist
and futurist Phil Salin
in the 1980s.
Starting in 1984, Salin worked to create AMIX as an international network for the exchange of information, consulting
contracts, computer code
and research
. He envisaged a world in which the ready exchange of expertise would reduce transaction costs, with wide-ranging beneficial effects. In particular, he predicted that information market
s would reduce the need for redundant employees at different organizations, so that companies would become smaller and more efficient
, relying on each other as external sources of expertise. He also expected revolutionary political
changes as the markets became widely adopted.
The AMIX project originated long before the widespread deployment of the Internet
, so the challenge of creating the market was compounded by the technical difficulty of creating the network on which it would run.
Autodesk
acquired a controlling interest in AMIX in 1988 and funded it until shortly after Phil Salin died in December 1991. Among early adopters, the computer industry itself became the source of many early markets such as a network for the exchange of libraries
of object-oriented
computer code. AMIX closed its doors in 1992.
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
and futurist Phil Salin
Phil Salin
Phillip Kenneth Salin was an American economist and futurist, best known for his contributions to theories about the development of cyberspace and as a proponent of private space exploration and development....
in the 1980s.
Starting in 1984, Salin worked to create AMIX as an international network for the exchange of information, consulting
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
contracts, computer code
Source code
In computer science, source code is text written using the format and syntax of the programming language that it is being written in. Such a language is specially designed to facilitate the work of computer programmers, who specify the actions to be performed by a computer mostly by writing source...
and research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
. He envisaged a world in which the ready exchange of expertise would reduce transaction costs, with wide-ranging beneficial effects. In particular, he predicted that information market
Information market
Although information has been bought and sold since ancient times, the idea of an information marketplace is relatively recent. The nature of such markets is still evolving, which complicates development of sustainable business models...
s would reduce the need for redundant employees at different organizations, so that companies would become smaller and more efficient
Efficiency (economics)
In economics, the term economic efficiency refers to the use of resources so as to maximize the production of goods and services. An economic system is said to be more efficient than another if it can provide more goods and services for society without using more resources...
, relying on each other as external sources of expertise. He also expected revolutionary political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
changes as the markets became widely adopted.
The AMIX project originated long before the widespread deployment of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, so the challenge of creating the market was compounded by the technical difficulty of creating the network on which it would run.
Autodesk
Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that focuses on 3D design software for use in the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media and entertainment industries. The company was founded in 1982 by John Walker, a coauthor of the first versions of the company's...
acquired a controlling interest in AMIX in 1988 and funded it until shortly after Phil Salin died in December 1991. Among early adopters, the computer industry itself became the source of many early markets such as a network for the exchange of libraries
Library (computer science)
In computer science, a library is a collection of resources used to develop software. These may include pre-written code and subroutines, classes, values or type specifications....
of object-oriented
Object-oriented programming
Object-oriented programming is a programming paradigm using "objects" – data structures consisting of data fields and methods together with their interactions – to design applications and computer programs. Programming techniques may include features such as data abstraction,...
computer code. AMIX closed its doors in 1992.