I do think it's a genuinely interesting speculation—what happens if we paid real-life things not as a subscription, but based on usage, like an API.

Not advocating for that at all, but it makes me want to read Ubik or write a short story about how it would affect life.

> if we paid real-life things not as a subscription, but based on usage, like an API.

We used to do that before the push for subscriptions.

And in the digital world this is the micropayments dream...

> if we paid real-life things not as a subscription, but based on usage

Are you thinking a flat rate or one based on local population density?