Towards a Singularity? The Web as the Global Brain

-- By AlexanderWong? - 24 Feb 2012

Introduction

Modern technology has been responsible for tremendous changes within society and the world at large. The transformative effects of the net cannot be understated. It has facilitated the rapid flow, transfer, and storage of information in an unparalleled manner. Never before have physical limitations and boundaries meant so little with regards to the dissemination of ideas. It is

Yet beyond the immediate implications of information sharing is the possibility for something greater. The ability to connect people and ideas from across the world introduces the possibility of deeper collaboration through distributed intelligence. Such is the principle behind the Global Brain, the belief that the web can serve as a collective intelligence, linking distant populaces into a cohesive network of ideas, resulting in a sum that is far greater than its parts. The upshot would be the facilitation of an innovative, well informed, and interconnected global society with constant inflow and integration of new information at a rapid pace.

Theoretical Background

The theoretical underpinnings to the Global Brain can be found from a number of sources.

Durkheim

Emile Durkheim developed his theories on collective intelligence

Nature

Within nature, scientists have observed behavior from individual organisms in which powerful eusocial bonds are formed, resulting in the creation of a larger superorganism, usually manifest in the form of a hive, nest, or colony. Within the dynamic of the superorganism, individual actors become interconnected parts of a larger social creation, with each part among millions contributing their own intelligence and efforts. The culmination of their efforts is a more powerful and efficient creation, far more capable of dealing with

The Web

Semantic Web

Wikipedia

Obstacles

Freedom of Speech and Access to Information

Standardization

---