The Open Information Economy

Howdy,

Last week we discussed the scalability of technology.

This week, we're talking about a byproduct of technology's scale - the open information economy.

tl;dr the open information economy, what Russia historically attacks to sow division in the West, may be the very thing that helps Ukraine prevail.

What the heck is the open information economy?

Open trade + freedom of speech = open information economy

Pro: leaves door open for democracy

Con: leaves democracy vulnerable to noisy outside actors

You cannot experience the pros without the cons in the modern age. The tools that give us each a voice online can be used as weapons against us.

The purpose of attacking an open information economy is not to attack from the outside in. Instead, you quietly attack from the inside out. How? Plant conspiracy theories from fake accounts that seem like your peers on social media, encourage anger/outrage, and diminish trust amongst your citizenry.

Here's the kicker - bad actors who take advantage of open information economies are typically the leaders of authoritarian regimes who limit free speech within their borders.

Photo of Kyiv, Ukraine

The tactics haven't changed, but the tools have.

Russia has been a bad actor in the open information economy for decades. A well-documented example of this is Operation Denver from 1982-1987 when the KGB spread conspiracy theories via print media that the US invented HIV/AIDs (Wilson Center.)

By 1987, over 80 countries covered the conspiracy theory in 30 different languages. In 1992, the Director of Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Yevgeny Primakov even admitted to fabricating the story (The Guardian).

Think about the reach they had with print media. Now consider your news consumption via social media.

2021 statistics on news/social media consumption in the modern open information economy (Pew Research):

• 48% of Americans say they get their news from social media "sometimes" or "often"

• 31% of Americans regularly get their news from Facebook - highest figure among all major social media platforms

Russia's plan in the age of tech: take 80's tactics, apply them to modern tools.

We've felt the effects. The conspiracy, outrage, and lack of trust in America have been palpable in recent years - most notably amidst the last 2 presidential elections and the COVID-19 pandemic.

But what if the same open information economy that allows Russia to sow division is the same thing that will ultimately prevent them from overruling democracy?

Quote from Beyond Propaganda: Soviet Active Measures in Putin's Russia which was printed in 2016 (Link)

Good news: what has left us vulnerable could be our greatest asset.

Mykhailo Fedorov is the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. Fedorov was anticipating that Russia would try to knock out Ukraine's access to the internet, thus jeopardizing the people's access to the open information economy and making it easier for Russia to limit communication.

Here's where it gets wild - On 2/26, Fedorov uses the open information economy (via tweet) to publically plea for Musk's help in preserving the open information economy (via Starlink) in Ukraine.

10 hours later, Musk responds.

What the heck is Starlink? It's a company that provides high-speed internet via satellite to remote locations (operated by SpaceX).

What doesn't Musk do? I don't know. Love him. Hate him. Whatever. He answered the call.

57 hours from the initial tweet, Fedorov confirms satellite receivers are in possession of the Ukrainian government to access the internet.

I can't stop imagining what it would be like to explain this concept to Napoleon or Alexander the Great - "Yeah, so this government official used a communication system known as the internet to contact an eccentric CEO halfway around the world to send an orbital object that would allow for continued communication." Wild.

Ukraine is still fighting for its sovereignty, and this one act likely won't decide the outcome of the war. But it does give me hope that free trade and freedom of speech will prevail over disinformation.

And how poetic would it be if Ukraine's access to the open information economy, the very thing that Russia has sought to divide the West on, becomes ultimately responsible for keeping Ukraine agile, united, and sovereign?

Thanks for reading

Go build something using the open information economy today,

Josh