Ideal Information Access

The goal here is to define an ideal pattern of information access in the most broad terms. That is: we must lay the internet out to allow for cheap and universal information access while protecting the freedom of the individual to set bounds on private information.

The Internet #

The Internet has been an enormous leap forward in the development of the organism that is humankind. The network effect of information drives growth at a rate that is something on the factorial order of the osmotic information relay of the pre-internet world. yada yada yada… wtf is he talking about. In a sense, the internet is the brain and nervous system of our organism. Its senses are billions of cameras, microphones, text editors, accelerometers, and more. Its memory lies on servers that blanket the globe. Its strength lies in its distribution, its power in its accessibility by all of its human cells.

So now we have a nervous system. The unique and all important features are:

• Accessibility (both read and write)
• Distribution of memory and access gates

Privacy #

At the same time, this nervous system relies largely on the inputs and maintenance of its human cells (for now). Those humans are fragile creatures, needy and full of grievance. Many of them have come to the conclusion that the “pursuit of happiness,” whatever that is, is fundamental to a worthwhile existence. (As most humans have the power to decide whether or not their person shall continue to exist, it is in everyone’s best interest to aid humans in their pursuit of happiness.)

One of the requirements of happy pursuit in any intelligent species is privacy. That is: the privacy to think, the privacy to record thoughts, and the privacy to communicate with as many or as few trustworthy beings as possible. The arguments to support these claims are off topic, but they mostly revolve around self-actualization and self-distinction.

Furthermore, privacy is a fundamental requirement of a healthy civilization. This is something the founders of the USA realized some 300 years ago when they guaranteed the right to congregate in private. A civilization without privacy risks stagnation of the status quo. The old guard more easily retains power stifling technological development and, as a result, slowing the march toward a better standard-of-living.

So we must preserve the ability for the individual human to think, record thoughts, and communicate with other humans privately for the sake of:

• their own self-actualization
• the health of their society

The Nervous System as It Should Be #

Public Tier

Open Internet. Cheap to Access. Readable by all. Writable by all. Distributed memory and access points. Everyone has the freedom to shout into the void, whether or not anyone listens is their own prerogative.

Protected Tier

Private networks. Permission based communication channels. Payment based information. Everyone has the freedom to choose with whom they speak.

Private Tier

Individual device or memory. Local or remote. Can request Top and Middle Layer information without compromising private information. Everyone has the freedom to keep data from all.

Obviously all three of these layers blend together. And largely the internet already follows this pattern. But there are three major shortcomings.

Current Shortcomings #

Shortcoming #1: Public Tier is not cheap to access by all.

• This is the battle against Comcast and Verizon and AT&T and municipal exclusivity agreements.
• It is also a slow march toward outfitting the developing and underdeveloped world with internet access.
• We win this with distributed routing technology and cheap infrastructure and municipal-level policies.

Shortcoming #2: Protected Tier contains information that should be on the top layer.

• This is the battle against record companies and publishers and licensing agencies and a societal misunderstanding as to the costs of creating new, standard-of-living raising material.
• We win this with copyright reform and when people realize that the old costs associated with making certain information widely accessible (like books and music and science) have largely disappeared while the benefits remain.

Shortcoming #3: Private Tier is practically non-existent and Protected Tier is breach-able by certain parties.

• This is the battle against the NSA and Google and Facebook and our newfound culture of privacy indifference.
• We win this through encryption, p2p networks, and a cultural awakening.

The Solutions: Top Layer #

This problem stems from the monopolistic tendencies of infrastructural services: they require massive upfront costs and there is a premium on the political capital involved. Rewiring a neighborhood not only requires a lot of money, but it requires everyone’s permission (or the local government’s).

Let’s try to think up a new model for Internet Service Providing. As far as I can tell, the service that my ISP performs simply to connect my local device to the “Tier 3 Network”, whatever that is. Initially they used phone lines (dial-up), and then television cables (most broadband) because it seems we’re too lazy to invest in decent infrastructure. But with the rise of smart phones, wireless networks are picking up steam. The investment into wireless data transfer brightens the future of this space considerably. The infrastructure required is still expensive, but with the way humans think about airspace, broadcasting your info across your neighbor’s lawn does not require their permission.

Let’s theorize. I live in a world where small LTE modules are owned by a multitude of companies, property owners, and the occasional venturing individual. The LTE modules listen for the usual IP requests and transmit them to their destination location. The only difference is that these IP packets have a bounty attached to them. They’re broadcast with a message that says, “Whoever gets me to my destination first will receive X”. All LTE modules in the area naturally compete to send the packet along (if it’s worth it). Yes, that means you would pay per web page request. But with competing nodes your speed would be lightning fast (as fast as LTE tech permits, anyway), and your monthly web costs would be considerably less than the monthly bill we pay now for our ISPs.

The Solutions: Protected Tier #

TBC…