Silicon Tanks: French Theory — How Philosophers Predicted Web3 - ForkLog: cryptocurrencies, AI, singularity, the future

# Silicon Tanks: French Theory — How Philosophers Predicted Web3

Post-war French philosophy may seem like an elaborate intellectual game detached from objective reality. However, in reality, thinkers like Gilles Deleuze, Michel Foucault, and Jean Baudrillard aimed to explain new forms of relationships emerging between humans, states, and media.

Retrospectively, their works contain descriptions of the modern internet, algorithmic feeds, blockchain, and their observations are applicable for analyzing decentralization, metaverses, and digital control.

ForkLog delved into how the ideas of 20th-century French theorists can explain the current state of Web3.

Deleuze and Guattari: Rhizome versus Tree

In 1980, the book “A Thousand Plateaus” by philosopher Gilles Deleuze and psychoanalyst Félix Guattari was published. They contrasted two organizational structures of society and information: the tree-like (hierarchical) and the rhizomatic (networked).

The “tree” model involves a root, trunk, and branches, representing strict hierarchy. Centralized servers, corporations like Google or Amazon, and banking systems are structured this way. Data flows from administrator to user. The vulnerability of such a system is obvious: a blow to the (root)(server destroys the entire structure.

A rhizome )mycelium( functions differently. It has no center, beginning, or end. Any point can connect to any other. If a connection is broken in one place, the system rearranges itself and continues to operate.

Blockchain as a Rhizome Variant

Bitcoin’s architecture exhibits rhizomatic features. Peer-to-peer )P2P( networks, where each node )node( is equal, lack a single control center. The absence of a “main server” makes it resistant to censorship and attacks.

However, modern crypto projects are often criticized for “betraying the rhizome.” Using centralized gateways like Infura for Ethereum, stablecoins with address blocking capabilities like USDT, USDC, and centralized exchanges (CEX) reintroduce hierarchical structures.

Deleuze and Guattari warned that a rhizome could solidify into a tree if nodes of authority appear. This is currently observed in discussions about DeFi regulation.

The development of DAOs is an attempt to restore rhizomatic governance by removing corporate hierarchies.

Baudrillard: The Death of Reality

Jean Baudrillard did not witness the era of DeFi and NFTs but described the mechanics of their operation long before Bitcoin’s genesis block. His book “Simulacra and Simulation” )1981( inspired creators of “The Matrix,” but reality proved more complex than cinema.

Evolution of the Sign

Baudrillard’s central concept is the simulacrum: a copy that has no original in reality. He identified four stages of the sign’s evolution, which can be mapped onto finance:

1. The sign reflects a basic reality )a gold coin has value because of the metal(.
2. The sign masks and distorts reality )fiat money partially backed by gold(.
3. The sign masks the absence of reality )fiat currency printed by central banks without backing(.
4. The sign has no relation to reality, being a pure simulacrum )cryptocurrency(.

Baudrillard argued that in the postmodern era, the map precedes the territory; signs produce reality, not the other way around. In blockchain context, this means code is primary. A smart contract does not just describe a transaction; it creates its own reality. Bitcoin has become an ideal simulacrum: an asset that does not represent dollar or gold but refers only to itself and network complexity.

For crypto investors, this explains volatility: markets fall not due to factory failures but due to narrative destruction )story(.

NFTs, Metaverses, AI

The internet is a factory of simulacra, and NFTs are a prime example. Buying an image of an ape does not grant ownership or even copyright but registers a record pointing to another record. It’s a sign referring to a sign. Value is built solely on community trust, detached from physical assets or labor )in the classical sense(.

Metaverses embody “hyperreality” according to Baudrillard. They are environments where simulation becomes more real than physical reality. Users spend real money on digital clothing for avatars. Thus, the )digital( map replaces physical territory )world(.

Generative AI produces content without human authorship or lived experience. The internet is flooded with texts and images that appear authentic, yet behind them are no subjects. The information space collapses: distinguishing truth from fiction becomes increasingly difficult.

Foucault: The Transparent Society of the Panopticon

Michel Foucault examined power and control. In “Discipline and Punish” )1975(, he analyzed the panopticon—a design for an “ideal prison” proposed in the late 18th century by utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham.

![])https://img-cdn.gateio.im/webp-social/moments-2a60560c165336fc7e2c415a15a9fa00.webp(Stateville Penitentiary, Illinois. Source: Foster/White Gallery. The panopticon has a guard tower in the center with cells arranged around it. Prisoners cannot see the guard but know they may be watched at any moment. This enforces discipline: power becomes automatic and disembodied.

The internet has become a global panopticon. Social media, trackers, and cookies collect information continuously. Users are unaware of when algorithms analyze their behavior, forcing them to )knowingly or unknowingly( adjust their actions. KYC and AML procedures on crypto exchanges extend the panopticon into finance.

Blockchain as a Surveillance Tool

The paradox of blockchain lies in its duality. On one side, it is a tool for freedom )nobody can block a Bitcoin transaction(. On the other, a public ledger is a dream for state overseers: all transactions are recorded forever, analytics firms label wallets, making financial life transparent.

With CBDC adoption, governments gain not only real-time visibility into transactions but also the ability to program money—for example, to restrict spending on certain goods or to set expiration dates.

The solution is zero-knowledge cryptography )ZK(: technology that can prove the truth of a statement )for example, “I have funds”( without revealing the actual data. This is a technical attempt to break down the walls of the panopticon.

Virilio: Dromology and the Inevitability of Crashes

Central concepts of Paul Virilio’s philosophy are speed and crash. He argued that technology not only expands human capabilities but also creates new types of catastrophes:

“In inventing the ship, you invent shipwrecks. In inventing the airplane, you invent aviation disasters.”

Speed of Light and Algorithmic Trading

In his 1977 essay “Speed and Politics,” )Virilio( introduced “dromology,” describing principles of organizing modern society. According to him, absolute power depends directly on, for example, the speed of data transmission.

High-frequency trading )HFT( and MEV-bots in blockchain exploit microseconds. Humans are excluded from decision-making due to their inability to react that fast. Power shifts to algorithms.

Integral Crash

Virilio also described the “integral crash”—a catastrophe occurring simultaneously everywhere due to system-wide interconnectedness.

The collapse of the Terra ecosystem is an example. Instant panic spread and cascading liquidations crashed markets worldwide within minutes. Smart contracts execute code automatically and instantly, leaving no time for error correction.

Traditional finance has “circuit breakers” )trading halts(, but DeFi operates 24/7 in real-time. According to Virilio, we are building a system where crashes will be global and instantaneous.

Debord: Society of the Spectacle and Attention Tokenization

Guy Debord in 1967 published “The Society of the Spectacle.” His key thesis: “All that was once lived directly has now been displaced into representation.” Being has been replaced by possession, and possession by appearance.

Attention Economy

On the internet, the commodity is not content but user attention. Social media turned life into an endless performance for social capital )likes(. Cryptocurrencies monetize this process.

Management tokens, POAP, NFT-avatars—all are tools of the “society of the spectacle.” People buy expensive JPEGs not for art but to display status in digital communities. The speculative value of assets often depends solely on hype and visual appeal, detached from technological utility.

According to Debord, the spectacle is not just a collection of images but social relations mediated by images. In Web3, these relations are mediated by tokens.

Latour: Actor-Network Theory

Although Bruno Latour is primarily a sociologist, his ideas are critically important for understanding smart contracts. In actor-network theory )ANT(, there is no distinction between humans and objects. Both are “actants,” acting entities.

Code as an Actor

In traditional law, the subject is a human. In Ethereum, a smart contract acts autonomously. It holds funds, makes decisions, and executes transactions without human intervention. Code becomes a full-fledged actor in the network.

The 2016 DAO hack created a philosophical-legal paradox: the hacker simply exploited the code’s capabilities. From Latour’s perspective, code, hacker, and the Ethereum community )deciding on a hard fork( are equivalent agents shaping reality through interaction. Technology ceases to be a neutral tool; it dictates the rules of the game.

Lyotard: The End of Grand Narratives

In “The Postmodern Condition” )1979(, Jean-François Lyotard proclaimed the death of “metanarratives”—grand ideologies explaining everything )religion, communism, progress(. They are replaced by local language games and small narratives.

Bitcoin as Rejection of State Narrative

The first cryptocurrency emerged during a trust crisis in the financial metanarrative. Digital assets present numerous “small narratives”: each blockchain has its own philosophy, community, and consensus rules. There is no single truth, only consensus within a specific network.

Currently, there are attempts to create new metanarratives: “Web3 will save the world,” “Bitcoin is digital gold.” Lyotard warned against putting faith in universal salvation concepts.

Synthesis: The Future through the Lens of French Theory

Analyzing the ideas of French philosophers suggests several development vectors:

1. Struggle for Structure: The conflict between the rhizome )DeFi( and the tree )CEXs and corporations( intensifies. Technologies will tend toward decentralization, while states and capital seek to capture key nodes.
2. Hyperreality Prevails: AI and metaverses will make the distinction between original and copy meaningless. The question “Is it real or deepfake?” will lose relevance; the only thing that matters is the effectiveness of content impact.
3. End of Privacy: The panopticon is being perfected. Cryptography remains the only refuge. Privacy shifts from a right to a privilege requiring technical knowledge.
4. Speed as a Threat: Increasing blockchain throughput and trading speed heighten the risk of systemic, instant crashes. Security demands slowing down—contradicting market logic.

French thinkers demonstrated that technology is not neutral. The internet, conceived as a space of freedom, bears the genes of control and simulation. Understanding these philosophical concepts is essential not only for developers and users but for conscious interaction with digital reality. Otherwise, we risk dissolving completely into code, becoming mere terminals for data circulation.