Centralized Thought Networks and Their Risks
From Babel to Cloud
Suprabhātam pāṭhakāḥ!
Recently, there's been a significant push towards centralization in our modern ecosystem. We're increasingly relying on centralized systems, be it super cities, federal systems with strong central authorities, or cloud-based solutions.
What do history and mythology teach us about over-reliance on such ecosystems? Let’s dive into the depths of past times and see if we can avoid becoming the next chapter in Centralization Gone Wild!'
Tower Of Babel
As per to the scriptures, Long long ago, after the great flood, We humans united under a single language and lived in one place. It was really an amazing experience to speak one tongue and untied in one place without any differences. To celebrate our success and show our capabilities We decided to build a supercity with a large tower that reached the stratosphere.
As we built this magnificent marvel of a tower, the Lord came down and said,
Look at them, they’re united and speaking the same language. This is just the beginning. nothing will be impossible for them. Let’s mix up their language and scatter them around so they can't understand each other.
So, the Lord confused our tongue which gave birth to languages and scattered us abroad over the face of earth.
Such a story isn’t it!
We will not analyze whether this actually happened, whether it will happen, or who the 'Lord' character is, whether 'Lord' is 'God' or if they are different. Instead, we will explore the possible reasons of
What benefit does learning this story hold today?
Possible Reasons
From a centralized eco-system perspective there are two important aspects told in this story
United under single language
United under single location (specially after the great flood)
Outcome of the “Lord’s” actions are,
Confusing our tongue ( Languages were born )
Scattering us around the earth
It is evident that our ancestors intended to caution us about the dangers of 'single points of failure' and 'centralization' in our existence.
Rise & Fall of Rome
Rome is clearly another example of a glorious centralized success and failure. Rome had an enormous empire due to the following
Unified legal system
Efficient centralized administration
Centralized cohesive identity
Centralized military command structure
But
A boon can also be a curse!
The same centralization that led to Rome’s success also contributed to its rapid decline due to following weaknesses,
Administrative Overreach
As the empire expanded , centralized management of distance provinces became a pain in the rain!
Economic Strain
Centralized control of economic resources and heavy taxation created financial burdens on the empire
Political Instability
Centralized power led to political corruption and instability
Military overextension
Centralized Command & Control often led to overextension of military resources , defending extensive borders became increasingly challenging and costly
Centralized Thought Networks
Cloud Computing
Now in modern era, there has been an increase push to build centralized systems in technology through cloud computing adaptations. In cloud computing data, applications and services are hosted on centralized servers managed by cloud service providers such as Amazon, Google and Azure.
As with any initiative, Cloud computing does provide following benefits
Scalability
The ability scale resource up/down as per to demand
Efficiency
Simplification of resource management
Accessibility
Ability to access services from anywhere
The nature of our existence is that if there are benefits , there is always an inherent risk attached to it as well. Some of the risks of cloud computing are,
Single point of failure
Monopoly by central authority
Flexibility
Administrative burden
Overreach
Brain Computer Interface
With the invention of machine/brain human interface devices, especially the keyboard, microphone, and camera, we have been uploading our knowledge and experiences to the cloud through various mediums such as
Facebook
LinkedIn
Tiktok
Youtube
Etc, etc
It is evident that in the future, humanity will develop the capability to communicate via thought instantly. For example, if Neuralink or similar technologies were to evolve into a networked system where multiple users could communicate directly through a centralized platform, this could introduce instant communication via thought across the globe, giving birth to 'Centralized Thought Networks’
In other words we will be united under
One Tongue under the Globe
just like the Tower Of Babel story!
As mentioned above such a “Centralized Thought Network” does come with risks and benefits, Some of the risks worth mentioning are;
Single point of failure
Corruption
Overreach
Overextension
Privacy invasion
Data breaches
Unauthorized access
Loss of individuality
And most importantly due to over dependence on technology
We might forget how to speak languages over time, as they become unnecessary.
It is important to remember the wise words someone said long long ago!
Unity in Diversity
References
[1] Tower of Babel
[3] Decline and Fall Of The Roman Empire
[4] Neuralink