By Futurist Thomas Frey
In 2023, I introduced the concept of the Neumann Engine—a self-replicating system for cities to thrive in the AI era by turning economic decline into innovation opportunity. Named after mathematician John von Neumann’s self-replicating machine theories, the Neumann Engine isn’t a single technology or institution. It’s a complete economic operating system that enables cities to generate prosperity through AI-powered entrepreneurship, autonomous coordination, and continuous adaptation.
By 2040, this concept will have evolved into one of the era’s defining megaprojects: The Neumann Engine Mega-Region Initiative—a $1 trillion global fund creating dozens of self-sustaining tech mega-regions across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Linked AI-driven innovation corridors will connect continents, each designed as a fusion of venture studios, smart logistics, and autonomous governance.
The outcome: cities that don’t just survive AI disruption but use it as fuel for continuous economic reinvention. Self-replicating innovation ecosystems that spread across regions, creating prosperity exactly where traditional manufacturing and service economies are collapsing.
This is how post-industrial cities avoid becoming permanent decline zones—and how the global economy restructures around AI-native innovation rather than trying to preserve jobs that AI makes obsolete.
Continue reading… “The Neumann Engine: Building Self-Replicating Innovation Ecosystems by 2040”
