Originally written for Twitter:
The recognition that algorithms, influence operations, censorship, and policing are major issues is now the mainstream consensus view. It’s no secret that “free will” can very easily be hijacked or that a host of operators are aggressively attempting to gather information about you at all times. . In fact the word NPC exists to describe those in society who are no longer in control.
So why can’t anyone figure out a solution? They keep using the same platforms. A 1000 alternatives are born and then they quietly die, while the major platforms continue to march towards more control. It’s because everyone’s looking at the application layer, when they should be looking at the governance layer first and then the protocol layer. Communication does not need to go through the application layer. It can travel on the protocol layer, while appearing on any platform of your choosing. *This is currently a reality on Nostr*.
It may not seem like it yet, but this will inevitably become a fight for power and governance on a larger scale than we imagine. This is why it’s critical to solve governance because the protocol solutions already exist, while not solving the governance question possibly means staying trapped in walled gardens of technocrats for the foreseeable future.
The recognition that algorithms, influence operations, censorship, and policing are major issues is now the mainstream consensus view. It’s no secret that “free will” can very easily be hijacked or that a host of operators are aggressively attempting to gather information about you at all times. . In fact the word NPC exists to describe those in society who are no longer in control.
So why can’t anyone figure out a solution? They keep using the same platforms. A 1000 alternatives are born and then they quietly die, while the major platforms continue to march towards more control. It’s because everyone’s looking at the application layer, when they should be looking at the governance layer first and then the protocol layer. Communication does not need to go through the application layer. It can travel on the protocol layer, while appearing on any platform of your choosing. *This is currently a reality on Nostr*.
It may not seem like it yet, but this will inevitably become a fight for power and governance on a larger scale than we imagine. This is why it’s critical to solve governance because the protocol solutions already exist, while not solving the governance question possibly means staying trapped in walled gardens of technocrats for the foreseeable future.
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