Spontaneous Order as Network Rationality
D<sub>U</sub>MB NOD<sub>E</sub>S<sub>,</sub> SMART N<sub>E</sub>TWORK
One of the foundational texts describing (as well as prescribing) the new workings of the network market is “New Rules for the New Economy” (Kelly 1997)<sup>1</sup> by Kevin Kelly, Wired’s editor in chief. I will focus my analysis of the discourse on the network market mostly on a close reading of this text, as well as some other articles from Wired. The most exciting feature of the digital revolution, according to Kelly, is the emergence of the network as the prominent paradigm of technological architecture and, in turn, of economic activity. As Kelly puts it, “The new economy is about communication” (1998, 5)<sup>2</sup>; specifically, it is about the ability of disparate units to be networked or of individual nodes to communicate amongst themselves.
Kelly begins his analysis of the economy with a close examination of its underlying technology; a technological analysis that is supposed to unravel the shape of contemporary society. He notes that “dumb chips”— simple processors designed to perform very limited computational tasks— are becoming much more popular than the more sophisticated computer chips (Kelly 1998, 10–11). Computer chips (such as the central processing units [CPUs] within PCs) are characterized by self-sufficiency; that is, they are stand-alone, autonomous units. Dump chips, on the other hand, only make sense within a network structure. Each of these chips is “dumb,” but as we are “connecting these billion nodes, one by one” (12), these small, not-so-intelligent machines become something else; they gain new qualities of “smartness” (14) and rationality (16).
Such a network is characterized by a high level of rationality that is brought about not by any single supercomputer, which in itself is external to the network and controls its operation—an omniscient eye in the sky, or a Big Brother that watches over the network. Instead, network rationality is brought about by the mere interlinking of dumb chips—and more generally, individual nodes—into a web. Intelligence, knowledge, and economic rationality, according to Kelly, reside not in any individual node but only in the network, and it comes about only through the new technological ability of nodes to come together in a collective rational action—that is, to “swarm” (12). Order and rationality are brought about by the interlinking of simple, irrational nodes. This type of order, Kelly says, emerges in any system that employs network architecture— biological, technological, economic, cultural, and social. Thus, Kelly is able to extrapolate from the technological level to other realms, such as intelligence. For example, he asserts that “when connected into a swarm, small thoughts become smart” (12). The interconnection of many small, simple-minded parts results in a qualitative leap—so that “small” becomes not simply big but “smart.” Using the same model, Kelly explains human consciousness as the communicative cooperation of dumb neurons: “Our brains,” Kelly says, “tap into dumb power by clumping dumb neurons into consciousness” (13). Networks are mechanisms for radical qualitative transformations and for achieving a gestalt, or a whole that is bigger than the sum of its parts.
Network Market
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