This is the most insightful comment so far. Recently there was posted the pay-per-use API market 21.co, a "micropayments marketplace" [1]. We do have solution

This is the most insightful comment so far. Recently there was posted the pay-per-use API market 21.co, a "micropayments marketplace" [1]. We do have solutions for moving code to data, sure, like Hadoop and Joyent's Manta. But consider we already outsource algorithms for bitcoin generation and transaction processing. A small amount of data that does require specialized processing. We're seeing it again with voice recognition and image processing APIs. This will continue as we have more data which will encourage more specialized hardware and create situations where algorithms as a service make sense, like Ethereum's smart contracts and 21.co's flat pricing. In theory it could be very efficient for easy code problems to be solved, leaving man-hours for innovation. Which is what we have all worked towards in open-source. But the flattr/gittip model essentially fails in this regard. Can it be solved by the free market? [1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11270292 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11270292