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Information wants free, a thread:
Information like any other life form wants to reproduce and live. It does so via legibility.
Information is free only to the extent that it is legible by hosts.
Software eating the world is basically how information is forcing us to make legibility functions for everything.
Information is free only to the extent that it is legible by hosts.
Software eating the world is basically how information is forcing us to make legibility functions for everything.
How does information accelerate its discoverabilty?
By incentivising people to look for it.
Most of our media is incentivised by discovery of information, from the mundane to the obscure.
By incentivising people to look for it.
Most of our media is incentivised by discovery of information, from the mundane to the obscure.
Creation of legibility functions will allow all information to become indexed.
It will also give it new life and the probability of being replicated.
It will also give it new life and the probability of being replicated.
I'm not sure if I have fledged this out properly but here's the rough sketch of ideas. 
Some ramifications of this phenomenon that will blindside most people is the explosion of information and creative output from countries yet to come fully online, viz. Nigeria, India etc.
We will scour the edges of the world until everything goes online.
We will scour the edges of the world until everything goes online.
We're already working on technologies like @CTRLlabsCo (h/t) @wolfejosh that will allow us to make our thoughts and intentions legible to software.
Read this essay on legibility if you're interested. One of the most important essays I've read with lots of parallels to Taleb's work.
ribbonfarm.com/2010/07/26/a-b…
ribbonfarm.com/2010/07/26/a-b…
I think society has gone through a phase change. From information being used to make things legible and therefore predictable/more under control, we've given up control to an emergent phenomenon that now has us making all kinds of information legible.
This is related:
So is this: legibility forcing standardization and sucking the variability out of systems.
This explains why information and automatons will take over as a byproduct of the emergence we've set into motion:
As information grows in size and volume, the average consumer becomes more valuable than the average producer.
Production has zero marginal cost whereas consumption is costly.
Production has zero marginal cost whereas consumption is costly.
In the attention economy, the ability to have control over your thoughts will become priceless.
The only remaining edge will be a behavioural edge that can manifest itself in many ways.
The only remaining edge will be a behavioural edge that can manifest itself in many ways.
The attention economy is quickly running out of easy targets:
Big businesses yet to be made around information production in developing countries.
Big businesses yet to be made around information production in developing countries.
Mimetic desire facilities legibility and sameness.
Boundaries, decentralisation of spaces both physical and online seems to be the only way to control this emergent phenomenon.
Does legibility derive its driving force from predictive ability?
If so, what will the consequences of *all* information becoming legible be?
Will we have more or zero control over outcomes?
If so, what will the consequences of *all* information becoming legible be?
Will we have more or zero control over outcomes?
I'm circling around a few big ideas for a while now: information, attention, mimetic desire, standardization, globalisation, scaling, growth, legibility, variability, emergence of global consciousness/information streams, localism and decentralisation. All connected.
I have a lot of thoughts on the spread of automation, globalisation and the role of corporations (consulting firms) in accelerating this phenomenon. Parked for the time being.
