Take a moment to consider the purpose of jewelry from the perspective of cultural evolution. Jewelry enables people to demonstrate status, and so it appeals to human competitive self-interest. It’s a technology that serves culture by provoking ambition. Progress emerges when a population is ambitious.

Obviously, this is hyper simplified, and human competition has some super problematic elements and all that. But I don’t want to get distracted here by whether or not we think this dynamic is good or bad. I just want to set some context so I can talk about the Toyota Prius as an example of a new take on status technology.

Last night, a friend of mine, a super conscious, super altruistic urban planner who has dedicated her life to cultural progress, showed off a sticker she stuck on her iPhone. It said: “Wind Powered.” She explained that she bought enough carbon credits to offset the power her iPhone would use in one year.

Of course, the super rich have a long tradition of flashy altruism, building libraries, supporting orchestras, and funding research. But this sticker is different. It’s not for the super rich. Just like the Prius. And wedding invitations printed on recycled paper using only soy-based inks.

What I think might be happening is that we are starting to see the first hints of status technologies that flaunt an individual’s ability to think beyond basic self-interest. These are status technologies that tell the world that there is status in being able to understand that we are all connected, sharing one destiny as part of a larger whole.

I hope it works.