It strikes me that, if we are ever to expand the Internet into space on a universal scale (a la Vint Cerf and "delay tolerant networking", as an example), the inherent physics problems involved with distances and connectivity in space would probably make decentralization an absolute requirement. I mean, it seems it would not be uncommon for there to be a "local net" and a "universal peer-to-peer or mesh network net".
We're obviously a long way off from colonizing space and needing the Internet to spread, but we still have the physics problems here on Earth.
I'm not convinced that centralization in its current iteration (cloud operators controlling huge infrastructures) is the best long run. As we saw with the recent Azure outage in South Central US, even the huge infrastructure can have problems too.
Secure decentralization has seemed like a panacea for a long time - for all things that resemble a public utility. Even things like the power grid.
We're obviously a long way off from colonizing space and needing the Internet to spread, but we still have the physics problems here on Earth.
I'm not convinced that centralization in its current iteration (cloud operators controlling huge infrastructures) is the best long run. As we saw with the recent Azure outage in South Central US, even the huge infrastructure can have problems too.
Secure decentralization has seemed like a panacea for a long time - for all things that resemble a public utility. Even things like the power grid.