I can't believe you're writing about all of this; it's exactly my focal point. I have mentioned in prior comments that I am collaborating on a book about Bitcoin. After the requisite "10,000" hours, I am convinced that Bitcoin is the only blockchain that is truly decentralized and can thus be the wellspring of all you've described. I am also following the work of Audrey Tang (Former Minister of Digital Affairs, Taiwan) as a blueprint for what can be achieved when we pair a deep and profound appreciation of/understanding of "humanity" with cutting-edge digital tools as you've described. Check out this 17-minute documentary film about how the Bitcoin blockchain was successfully used to ensure a fair outcome of the 2023 Guatemalan election (film.simpleproof.com); if you know of any county clerks who might be interested in piloting such a program for November (it was implemented for all of Guatemala in 4 days - very easy plug-and-play tech; I heard these guys on a podcast and have been obsessed with their work ever since), I think it would be an extremely consequential move towards proving the concept to Americans who are (understandably) skeptical of the "whole blockchain thing," (also understandably) know very little about what it is, and often have a particularly strong reaction to Bitcoin, which is the purpose of the book we're working on. For many reasons, this is a tech that can really move us forward on issues of great concern to Democrats, but there is a lot of confusion over the energy footprint of Bitcoin (I know and get it, because this was my primary concern before agreeing to work on the project at all.)
You're speaking my language. I believe Bitcoin is our perpetual lifeline to decentralization. I got started with Ordinals and have been building what I call satplications, which are applications running code anchored to sats. On that note, I’m organizing the Meta-Layer Initiative to create a safe, AI-assisted meta-environment above the webpage that upholds truth, freedom, and sovereignty. We've just released a call for ideas on the desirable properties of a meta-layer, and I’d love for you to contribute to this emerging transformative effort.
I assume you're familiar with the work of Audrey Tang? I have been following her work since 2020, when I heard her on the Your (un)Divided Attention podcast with Tristan Harris. It blew my mind. I can still remember where I was as I was listening (in the woods behind my house, walking the dogs) and how crazy it was that such a digitally-focused approach could feel so completely human and embodied. I've never encountered anyone like her. Here's an article by way of introduction to whoever is interested - there are a ton of amazing YouTube talks. You will not be disappointed. https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/17/audrey-tang-toxic-social-media-fake-news-taiwan-trans-government-internet
Wait until you listen to some of her interviews! I think she'd be delighted to come on your podcast. I am dying to meet her! I actually wrote a whole thing on China/Taiwan for the Foreign Policy Association a year or two ago, and put a whole blurb specifically about her in there (so more people would be introduced to her work), but I think it was cut b/c of space constraints. I think she's doing a lot of speaking engagments to promote her book - I hope you reach out! Your audience, I think, would be super into that conversation!
Yes, she came a cross my radar the: participatory democracy in Taiwan in a conversation with Tom Atlee awhile ago, but I'm not caught up so thanks for sending the article. She is truly a force of nature.
The article says her dream is an open-source world without physical borders where we all share data and information for the common good. The latter is certainly possible within a meta-layer. How can we get her input on the Call for Ideas for the desirable properties of a meta-layer? Is she accessible?
I agree she'd be the perfect collaborator and woudl love what you're doing (it's so thoughtfully articulated in your article). I have no idea, but she seems pretty unstoppable so maybe just reach out and send that article and just ask? No harm in trying! This is the work she is trying to encourage in the world. I wish I had a connection but I don't (yet). :(
OMG I just read the article and filled out the google form. Amazing! I can't wait to learn more! So glad to be in touch and grateful you've shared this with me.
Brilliant Daniel and so necessary and achievable. We are heading for a crash which is necessary for the evolutionary process to take us to the sort of world you have described here.
For those of you resonating with Daniel's vision of a decentralized, participatory web, I’d like to invite you to contribute to a real-world initiative already underway: the Meta-Layer Initiative. We're working to build a new layer above the web—one that fosters mutual aid, direct democracy, and community-driven collaboration. We’ve put out a call for ideas on what the properties of this new meta-layer should be. This is your chance to help shape the next phase of the Internet and contribute to a more democratic and resilient web. You can share your ideas here: https://medium.com/@bridgit_io/help-shape-the-future-of-the-web-6afa7bc9535a.
You’ve touched a powerful accu-point here, Daniel…this thought form has incredible power and promise in it…may it go viral and spin up out of the dust. Metaphors be with you!
I keep thinking that the LLMs are going to allow us to unlock new hermetic alchemist type knowledge because prior no human could read/translate all the different texts or synthesize every culture’s knowledge base, because our working memory isn’t big enough, but now we have an exponentially bigger working memory in the format of the LLMs, and can use them to discover new connections and answers.
I was surprised to see no mention of the meta-layer in this piece, especially considering that it is one of the few viable solutions for scaling a system change toward mutual aid and participatory democracy. This effort is happening now with the support of none other than Vint Cerf, one of the fathers of the Internet. The precursor to this initiative has already been referenced in the comments of your previous articles, where I’ve shared ideas around the meta-layer and the Metaweb book (which even got its start in your writer's workshop). I’d love to invite you to contribute to this transformative vision as we push to create a more decentralized, collaborative, and human-centered web that anchors on mutual aid and participatory democracy. Your voice would be invaluable!
I’m loving this revival of the 90s techno-optimism! Everything you’ve outlined is achievable, but my gut tells me none of it will happen without a major, major calamity.
The technofeudalists and oligarchs that own the planet right now remind me a lot of the Japanese military near the end of WWII. Full of fight to the bitter end hubris, they collectively deluded themselves into thinking they had the god-given right to exert their power viciously and wantonly.
What stopped them? A countervailing force of such overwhelming magnitude that they literally had to choose between annihilation or capitulation.
I feel that’s where we’re at now or approaching fast.
So what, or who, could provide this kind of force now?
The most likely answer is Earth herself: climate change is accelerating and affecting more and more of the world’s populations in unambiguous ways. The Great Powers, the less fanatical ones anyways, will figure out their bunkers won’t save them. They will have to agree to give up some of their ill-gotten gains so society as a whole can simply continue.
Barring that, there’s The People. Violent revolution. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. First of all, who’s “we”? What bloc could possibly coalesce and decisively act at that kind of scale? Our culture is far too large and diverse to achieve anything close to what French bourgeoisie and American revolutionaries did. (Not to mention the sheer challenge of overcoming the surveillance state.)
At this point the only options I can fathom enter the realm of almost pure fantasy. An alien civilization suddenly appears and threatens us, or maybe shares their tech with us (fairly distributed right? Right?)
Or perhaps New Age prophecies become real. We achieve a collective awakening and suddenly the scales fall off our eyes and we drop our defenses and hug each other and begin reconciliation…
Sorry, but as much as I’d love for this to happen, I think it’s sheer bunkum.
Completely agree of course, in the last chapter of our book ''Cooling Climate Chaos, a proposal to cool the planet within twenty years'' this is roughly what Peter Bunyard and I describe. Peter was in the circles with Lynn Margulis and James Lovelock for decades. Humans are among the last species to create a distributed internet among themselves and it is high time that we create this global commons and distributed ownership with personal data ownership kept as our own property. For those interested I can send you a free PDF.
I can't believe you're writing about all of this; it's exactly my focal point. I have mentioned in prior comments that I am collaborating on a book about Bitcoin. After the requisite "10,000" hours, I am convinced that Bitcoin is the only blockchain that is truly decentralized and can thus be the wellspring of all you've described. I am also following the work of Audrey Tang (Former Minister of Digital Affairs, Taiwan) as a blueprint for what can be achieved when we pair a deep and profound appreciation of/understanding of "humanity" with cutting-edge digital tools as you've described. Check out this 17-minute documentary film about how the Bitcoin blockchain was successfully used to ensure a fair outcome of the 2023 Guatemalan election (film.simpleproof.com); if you know of any county clerks who might be interested in piloting such a program for November (it was implemented for all of Guatemala in 4 days - very easy plug-and-play tech; I heard these guys on a podcast and have been obsessed with their work ever since), I think it would be an extremely consequential move towards proving the concept to Americans who are (understandably) skeptical of the "whole blockchain thing," (also understandably) know very little about what it is, and often have a particularly strong reaction to Bitcoin, which is the purpose of the book we're working on. For many reasons, this is a tech that can really move us forward on issues of great concern to Democrats, but there is a lot of confusion over the energy footprint of Bitcoin (I know and get it, because this was my primary concern before agreeing to work on the project at all.)
Hi Allison!
You're speaking my language. I believe Bitcoin is our perpetual lifeline to decentralization. I got started with Ordinals and have been building what I call satplications, which are applications running code anchored to sats. On that note, I’m organizing the Meta-Layer Initiative to create a safe, AI-assisted meta-environment above the webpage that upholds truth, freedom, and sovereignty. We've just released a call for ideas on the desirable properties of a meta-layer, and I’d love for you to contribute to this emerging transformative effort.
https://medium.com/@bridgit_io/help-shape-the-future-of-the-web-6afa7bc9535a
I assume you're familiar with the work of Audrey Tang? I have been following her work since 2020, when I heard her on the Your (un)Divided Attention podcast with Tristan Harris. It blew my mind. I can still remember where I was as I was listening (in the woods behind my house, walking the dogs) and how crazy it was that such a digitally-focused approach could feel so completely human and embodied. I've never encountered anyone like her. Here's an article by way of introduction to whoever is interested - there are a ton of amazing YouTube talks. You will not be disappointed. https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/17/audrey-tang-toxic-social-media-fake-news-taiwan-trans-government-internet
That article is amazing. I would love to talk to her.
Wait until you listen to some of her interviews! I think she'd be delighted to come on your podcast. I am dying to meet her! I actually wrote a whole thing on China/Taiwan for the Foreign Policy Association a year or two ago, and put a whole blurb specifically about her in there (so more people would be introduced to her work), but I think it was cut b/c of space constraints. I think she's doing a lot of speaking engagments to promote her book - I hope you reach out! Your audience, I think, would be super into that conversation!
Yes, she came a cross my radar the: participatory democracy in Taiwan in a conversation with Tom Atlee awhile ago, but I'm not caught up so thanks for sending the article. She is truly a force of nature.
The article says her dream is an open-source world without physical borders where we all share data and information for the common good. The latter is certainly possible within a meta-layer. How can we get her input on the Call for Ideas for the desirable properties of a meta-layer? Is she accessible?
I agree she'd be the perfect collaborator and woudl love what you're doing (it's so thoughtfully articulated in your article). I have no idea, but she seems pretty unstoppable so maybe just reach out and send that article and just ask? No harm in trying! This is the work she is trying to encourage in the world. I wish I had a connection but I don't (yet). :(
OMG I just read the article and filled out the google form. Amazing! I can't wait to learn more! So glad to be in touch and grateful you've shared this with me.
Fantastic. Looking forward to connecting...
OOOOH how wonderful! I will check it out ASAP and get back to you! Yay! Thank you so much for sharing! :)
Brilliant Daniel and so necessary and achievable. We are heading for a crash which is necessary for the evolutionary process to take us to the sort of world you have described here.
I’m down bro lol
For those of you resonating with Daniel's vision of a decentralized, participatory web, I’d like to invite you to contribute to a real-world initiative already underway: the Meta-Layer Initiative. We're working to build a new layer above the web—one that fosters mutual aid, direct democracy, and community-driven collaboration. We’ve put out a call for ideas on what the properties of this new meta-layer should be. This is your chance to help shape the next phase of the Internet and contribute to a more democratic and resilient web. You can share your ideas here: https://medium.com/@bridgit_io/help-shape-the-future-of-the-web-6afa7bc9535a.
You’ve touched a powerful accu-point here, Daniel…this thought form has incredible power and promise in it…may it go viral and spin up out of the dust. Metaphors be with you!
I keep thinking that the LLMs are going to allow us to unlock new hermetic alchemist type knowledge because prior no human could read/translate all the different texts or synthesize every culture’s knowledge base, because our working memory isn’t big enough, but now we have an exponentially bigger working memory in the format of the LLMs, and can use them to discover new connections and answers.
I love the clear, detailed and visionary nature of this essay Daniel. Thanks very much for sharing your vision.
Hi Daniel,
I was surprised to see no mention of the meta-layer in this piece, especially considering that it is one of the few viable solutions for scaling a system change toward mutual aid and participatory democracy. This effort is happening now with the support of none other than Vint Cerf, one of the fathers of the Internet. The precursor to this initiative has already been referenced in the comments of your previous articles, where I’ve shared ideas around the meta-layer and the Metaweb book (which even got its start in your writer's workshop). I’d love to invite you to contribute to this transformative vision as we push to create a more decentralized, collaborative, and human-centered web that anchors on mutual aid and participatory democracy. Your voice would be invaluable!
https://medium.com/@bridgit_io/help-shape-the-future-of-the-web-6afa7bc9535a
This is amazing. I had not heard of the meta-layer or Metaweb book. Thank you!
Crickets... LOL
I’m loving this revival of the 90s techno-optimism! Everything you’ve outlined is achievable, but my gut tells me none of it will happen without a major, major calamity.
The technofeudalists and oligarchs that own the planet right now remind me a lot of the Japanese military near the end of WWII. Full of fight to the bitter end hubris, they collectively deluded themselves into thinking they had the god-given right to exert their power viciously and wantonly.
What stopped them? A countervailing force of such overwhelming magnitude that they literally had to choose between annihilation or capitulation.
I feel that’s where we’re at now or approaching fast.
So what, or who, could provide this kind of force now?
The most likely answer is Earth herself: climate change is accelerating and affecting more and more of the world’s populations in unambiguous ways. The Great Powers, the less fanatical ones anyways, will figure out their bunkers won’t save them. They will have to agree to give up some of their ill-gotten gains so society as a whole can simply continue.
Barring that, there’s The People. Violent revolution. But I don’t think that’s going to happen. First of all, who’s “we”? What bloc could possibly coalesce and decisively act at that kind of scale? Our culture is far too large and diverse to achieve anything close to what French bourgeoisie and American revolutionaries did. (Not to mention the sheer challenge of overcoming the surveillance state.)
At this point the only options I can fathom enter the realm of almost pure fantasy. An alien civilization suddenly appears and threatens us, or maybe shares their tech with us (fairly distributed right? Right?)
Or perhaps New Age prophecies become real. We achieve a collective awakening and suddenly the scales fall off our eyes and we drop our defenses and hug each other and begin reconciliation…
Sorry, but as much as I’d love for this to happen, I think it’s sheer bunkum.
Completely agree of course, in the last chapter of our book ''Cooling Climate Chaos, a proposal to cool the planet within twenty years'' this is roughly what Peter Bunyard and I describe. Peter was in the circles with Lynn Margulis and James Lovelock for decades. Humans are among the last species to create a distributed internet among themselves and it is high time that we create this global commons and distributed ownership with personal data ownership kept as our own property. For those interested I can send you a free PDF.