There is no need to explain the importance of the global network innovation we enjoy today. Many lines have been written on the possibilities and the marvels the network delivers daily. After an initial couple of decades of admiration, the same thing happened with many other wonders of the world we witnessed throughout civilization. We took it for granted. We do not discuss its structure, backbone, and the incentive structure behind it. Unless it interferes with our daily life and freedom.
This is true for any network user, being a state actor, cloud computing company, or everyday end user. When we look at the backbone of the internet, almost everything is open source. What does this mean? Basic protocols and ways we connect over the internet are documented and open for everyone to observe, copy, and build upon. They are agreed upon as a set of transparent public instructions that are free of proprietary obligations.
Industry and innovation
To distinguish innovation from the industry (which might be important to go forward), we can introduce a simple correlation: The industry is an ecosystem that emerged on the need to make the invention more available. The vision of utility is in the industry, and the value of innovation is proven with every iteration of utility. Following this correlation, we can indeed say that the more transparent innovation, the greater its value (or we tend to give it such a position).
When we look at the internet industry, we observe that companies and strategies that followed openness have benefited massively from the invention. This system of benefits from the open source approach can work in depth for both the invention and the consequential industry. To name a couple of the greatest examples: Alphabet (Google, YouTube, or Maps), Linux (used to run almost the entire internet backbone infrastructure), Android (revolutionising the app market, levelling the entry field, and reducing the digital divide). All of them are open source, built on the open-source innovation of the internet.
A closer look at resiliency
Let’s look at one example that may illustrate this precisely: bitcoin. It started as an open-source project and is still one of the most maintained public databases on the internet. Bitcoin brings back the idea of private money after 100 years of the nation’s monopoly on money. Although it is pointed out as a danger to the international financial system, there is no possible coordinated action by such entities to take down this system and/or ban it permanently. Why? The simple answer is in the trade-off.
Stopping bitcoin (or any digital information online) is not impossible per se but would require massive resources. This would require full control of all communication channels towards the internet, including banning satellites from orbiting above your geolocation and persistent efforts to ensure no one is breaching the ban. But in 2024, such a ban would create a tear in the fabric of society. Societal consequences would widely overcome the possible benefits.
Instead, as long as it is neutral, bitcoin does not present a threat but rather an opportunity for all. All other competitors built on bitcoin principles are not the same for that particular reason: they are not open source and transparent. No Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), privately issued stablecoin, or any of the thousand cryptocurrency impersonators have proven to hold any of the bitcoin’s value. Following the earlier distinction, innovation is open source, but the industry around it is not so much.
Open source is the right way, not the easy one
Does the above mean that when an industry is not based on open source, it cannot make great discoveries and innovate further? No, not at all. Intellectual property is a large part of the portfolio of the biggest tech companies. For example, Apple’s IP revenues culminated in around USD 22.6 billion in research and development expenditures (in 2022) The proprietary industry moves the needle in the economy and creates wealth, while open source creates opportunities. We need both for a healthy future. All of our opportunities may not result in imminent wealth, but rather in inspiration to move forward rather than oppose the change.
In simple terms, open source empowers the bottom-up approach to building for the future. It helps expand the base of possible contributors, and maybe most importantly, reduces the possibility of ending up in ‘knowledge slavery’. It can create a healthy, neutral, starting point. The one most will perceive as a chance rather than a threat.
If all of you had one particular innovation in mind while reading all this, you are right!
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a new frontier. AI is actually a bit more than just a technology, it is an agent. Anyhow, it is an invention, so chances are high it will follow the path we described above, enabling an entirely new industry of utility providers.
No need to be afraid
We hear all the (reasonable) concerns about AI development. Uncertainties on whether AI should be developed beyond human reach and concerns regarding AI in executive positions, all are based on fear of systems with no overview.
In the past, the carriers of the open source (openness and transparency) approach were mostly in academia. Universities and other research institutions contributed the most to the open source approach. It is a bit different in the AI field. For that, companies are leading the way.
The power to preserve common knowledge is still in the hands of states, and under the set of business and political circumstances, the private sector is also the biggest proponent of the open source approach. With the emergence of large language models and generative AI, the biggest open source initiatives came from Meta (LLaMa) and Alphabet (T5). They align with the incentive to statute open source as a standard for the future. We might be in an equilibrium moment in which both sides agree on the architecture for the future. Nations, international organisations, and the private sector should seize this opportunity. This new race toward more efficient technology of the future should evoke optimism, but there cannot be one without the bottom- up and open source approach to innovation.
The open source approach is still the way forward for innovation. and can build neutral ground, or at least will not be perceived as a threat.
Read more of our ideas about the way forward in AI governance on the humAInism page.
