TBL speaking at Malheur for Earth Day 2025, on the WoodWideWeb as an antifragile role model for the WorldWideWeb in the age of AI.
ChatGPT Prompt
[Opening]
Ladies and gentlemen, friends of the earth and of the web,
It is a true honor to stand here, on this Earth Day, in the heart of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge—a place of quiet resilience, teeming with life, where ecosystems remind us of balance, cooperation, and adaptation.
Today, I want to speak about two webs:
- The Wood Wide Web—the underground network of fungi [mycelium] and trees that connect, adapt, and thrive under stress.
- And the World Wide Web—the digital tapestry we built together for humanity to connect, share, and thrive.
As we enter the age of Artificial Intelligence, these two webs have never been more alike. And I believe the Wood Wide Web holds the key to making our World Wide Web not just sustainable but antifragile—a system that grows stronger, not weaker, under the stresses and challenges ahead.
1. A Tale of Two Webs
The Wood Wide Web, as scientists like Suzanne Simard have taught us, is a vast underground network of fungi that connects trees and plants. It is:
- Decentralized: No single tree dominates the system.
- Cooperative: Resources flow where they are needed most—nutrients to the weakest, signals to the strongest.
- Adaptive: If one tree falls, the network adjusts, redistributing its energy to support the forest’s survival.
This is antifragility: not mere resilience, but growth through challenge, a concept championed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
When I created the World Wide Web over three decades ago, I dreamed of something similar: a free, open, and decentralized platform where humanity could share knowledge symbiotically.
And for a time, we achieved that. We connected. We innovated. We shared. But over time, cracks have formed:
- Platforms grew centralized, concentrating power in a few hands.
- Data, like nutrients, stopped flowing freely.
- And now, Artificial Intelligence—our brightest innovation—risks becoming a brittle monoculture, built upon fragile systems and opaque decisions.
Much like a forest deprived of diversity, the World Wide Web is at risk of fragility.
2. What the Wood Wide Web Can Teach Us
Here, at Malheur, the lessons of nature are everywhere. Walk among these forests and wetlands, and you see a system that is alive, distributed, and adaptive. It thrives because it is diverse, dynamic, and free.
We need to bring these same principles to the World Wide Web in the age of AI.
- Decentralization: Just as no tree controls the forest, no single entity should control the web. Decentralized tools—peer-to-peer systems, federated AI models, and open protocols—will allow the web to remain open and antifragile.
- Symbiosis: Trees and fungi form partnerships to survive. We must encourage symbiosis between humans and machines, where AI works alongside us—not above us—to enrich our shared ecosystem.
- Adaptation: Forests adapt dynamically to stress. The web must do the same: embracing innovation from the edges, empowering smaller players, and welcoming unexpected ideas.
3. Antifragility in the Age of AI
Friends, AI holds immense potential. But if we build AI systems as centralized monoliths, dependent on massive servers and closed models, we risk fragility. A single failure could ripple through the web like a dying tree collapsing a brittle forest.
Instead, let us learn from the Wood Wide Web:
- Let us diversify AI models and approaches. Open-source AI, federated learning, and edge computing can keep the web flexible and alive.
- Let us share resources symbiotically. Data must flow freely and ethically—not hoarded—so that all parts of the web can thrive.
- Let us foster adaptation through decentralization. Small, local, and distributed actors must be empowered to innovate and solve problems on the web’s edges, not just its core.
Just as the fungi adapt and trees communicate in a forest, our World Wide Web must remain a living system: connected, open, and antifragile.
4. Earth, the Web, and Our Future
Today, as we celebrate Earth Day, we celebrate not just nature’s beauty but its wisdom—wisdom we need to guide us through this digital age.
Standing here at Malheur, we are reminded that forests, wetlands, and ecosystems are not static: they are resilient, adaptive, and alive. This is how we must reimagine our web—as part of this earth, not apart from it.
The World Wide Web has the power to mirror the Wood Wide Web
iHack, therefore iBlog 
Advice from Pando, the Trembling Giant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pando_(tree)
Beneath the forest, the roots remember.
Above the ground, the leaves forget.
We are not separate, you and I,
But strands of the same great net.
The trees do not grow alone,
The river does not flow alone,
And the web, your web, must learn to bend
As the willow bends to the storm.
Let no single voice drown the others,
Let no single root steal the light.
For the strongest forests are those that share,
And the quietest fires burn bright.
When you build, build as the mycelium builds,
Hidden, humble, yet strong.
When you speak, speak as the wind speaks,
Carrying wisdom where it belongs.
Remember the roots,
Trust the silence,
And let the web become the earth again.