Motivation and Principles
Motivation
Section titled “Motivation”Our human civilization has already made astonishing technological progress in the last 100 years which is seemingly still accelerating. Looking back at it through a lens of information processing, one can clearly see the exponential progress of our species that is seemingly starting to reach a point of singularity.
Compared to all the technological progress, it is surprising to see the relative lack of improvement in other fields like morality, purposefulness, mindfulness and effective human organisation.
Looking at the world as it is today, it seems our technology is starting to outgrow us. We have reached a global level of wealth and progress unprecedented in recorded human history, yet we still steal, scam, murder, wage wars and commit many other atrocities. While it may be impossible to eliminate this side of our nature completely, it is important not to amplify these destructive forces through our technology and our organisational structures.
The level we have reached is impressive in its own right and should not be ignored or dismissed, but it is important to remember that we still have a lot of space for improving in many different dimensions. With a technological singularity likely approaching it is arguably more important than ever to create structures for managing our resources and organisations that are not only stable but also represent people and their wills as best as possible.
The Basic Principles
Section titled “The Basic Principles”Decentralization — There is no central authority
Section titled “Decentralization — There is no central authority”Complex systems like the social structures of human organisation exhibit regular patterns that seem to indicate some fundamental or emergent features. One primary example is the tendency for hierarchical organisation, which seems to be deeply embedded in the biological foundations of complex animal organisation. Hierarchies give rise to different kinds of behaviors, ranging from an abstract sense of social status to competition and capitalism, but also tyranny and inequality.
The exact shape of a system’s hierarchies is a very important property for analysing its functionality. A hierarchy can become unstable by having a shape that is not well fit for its purpose. Hierarchies can be represented as directed graph networks and analysed using centrality measures.
Transparency — Explain and visualize everything
Section titled “Transparency — Explain and visualize everything”One of the most important principles of democracy is transparency. While it is still fundamentally implemented in most states, there has not been significant technological development that supports gathering insights into the operation of organisations. It is quite difficult to view the structure of an organisation and track its decision-making and individual impact on the whole, especially at larger scales.
Ownership — You own your time, your attention, your data, your algorithms
Section titled “Ownership — You own your time, your attention, your data, your algorithms”Ownership grants practical, fine-grained control over the sharing of data, providing more diverse options for sharing information instead of simple distinctions between private conversation and public post.
Trust — You choose who to trust
Section titled “Trust — You choose who to trust”As part of ownership rights, the user gets detailed control over who to share information with. In addition, there are deeper functionality-related controls through a trust protocol layer. This layer allows trusting chosen network contributors with parts of your data, allowing them to expand their availability and interconnectivity.
Cooperation — Everyone builds the system
Section titled “Cooperation — Everyone builds the system”The system should be built, maintained, and governed by its participants. Open-Source Development, transparent governance, and shared ownership ensure that no single entity controls the network.
Optimize human-to-system throughput: make the interface between human intent and organizational action as efficient, fair, and transparent as possible.