This is the great debate of today.
With all that is taking place, people are confronted with a choice. Do we want to fix big tech or the Internet?
We can do one, but not the other.
The centralized versus decentralized debate takes on some interesting twists and turns. To start, most will claim we have an Internet that is too centralized. It is run by a few companies such as Amazon, Google, and Facebook.
Yet we also see the other side of the debate claiming that the Internet still does not have control mechanisms in place. Facebook was called to the carpet for not monitoring and doing enough to control trolling, hate speak, and an assortment of other online behaviors.
So which is it?
If we want big tech to handle these issues, then they have to be large enough to act as a pseudo government. Thus, the idea of breaking them up is not possible. For them to be effective, they have to be big enough. Essentially, we put a floor under the size of these companies.
Of course, if that is not desired, and we want then broken up, then we are giving up the option of fixing them. Under this scenario, there is a Wild West element to the Internet. People will be free to post what they want and the companies will have a difficult time stopping it. With smaller companies, we will see more options for users which means behaviors will find outlets for whatever is desired.
This is the quandary that many find themselves in. People are so accustomed to assigning accountability and blaming, that the idea of having a system where that does not exist is too much to handle. Politicians find themselves at the heard of this. They want mega tech to be accountable for all that takes place on their platforms yet then are threatening to break them up in to smaller pieces.
The bottom line is that both cannot happen.
Ultimately, this is a choice people are going to have to make for themselves. Pushing other options is what the cyberpunks need to do. Ultimately, we are seeing technology powerful enough to overrun regulation and mega corporations. The challenge is that it will have to be in a "chaotic" fashion.
For example, IPFS is establishing a new way of searching for information. Instead of seeking out a particular server, it seeks the information wherever that is housed. This decentralized system is followed by the SIA project.
Singularitynet is taking this same concept to Artificial Intelligence. The idea behind it is that governments and big tech cannot be trusted with such a powerful tool. Hence, the idea of opening it up for all to use provides the opportunity for others to mount an alternative to mega tech.
Obviously, I am in the fix the Internet camp. Each day, I do my little part to try to push forward these entire concept. Fortunately, there are people a lot more knowledgeable and talented than myself who are leading this charge. The important thing to know is where one falls on this issue. It is time to crush the existing structure on the way to creating something new.
To accomplish this end requires the efforts of millions of people. Politicians and other "leaders" are going to do nothing substantial. In the end, they are not going to change anything.
Ultimately, they are going to do what protects themselves and maintains their power. Since they showed themselves to be abusive with this, it is time we start to pull that power from them.
Exiting the present system in whatever ways we can is what we can all do now. Over time, it will all start to add up.
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