This Space Technology Might Just be the Enabler for Seasteading
Life on the oceans is held back by a lack of good, affordable Internet access — all other things are relatively minor challenges. So, here is the one technology that will change everything: Starlink!
The sailing ship and the sextant were necessary for the discovery of America, and subsequently for the creation of the first modern, democratic republic. Sailing technology allowed those unhappy with the status quo to leave the old world in search of new opportunities.
And as much as you might want to criticize the US today, at the time of its creation it was by many measures the most advanced, fair, and modern form of government of the time.
The new frontier is the blue frontier. So what is stopping us to conquer the oceans? Given the way wealth is created today, the key challenge for Seasteading might not be the classics: defense, infrastructure, funding — but: Internet.
There are two ways in which Seasteaders could conquer the world’s oceans: in very small, independent boats. Or in large countries.
1. Big floating cities
It is obvious that a floating city with thousands or millions of inhabitants will be connected to the World Wide Web — even with current technologies. However, such a city is much harder to start. Don’t forget that Seasteading is illegal after all! Building a floating nation from scratch will cause countless legal battles — and require massive amounts of funding. No matter how large you think some companies are, always keep in mind: The US spends the equivalent of the most valuable company (in 2019: Microsoft at $1bn) every 2 months. The amount of funding necessary to start a company depends on the industry — and government is probably the most costly industry.
2. Decentralized — lots of small boats
The other possibility is kicking off Seasteading by having small boats stay in international waters for longer and longer periods of time. This decentralized approach offers countless advantages: no single point of failure means it will be harder to stop. No legal battles need to be won, one can just set sail and do it.
Now, doing this, food, safety, electricity, water supply, sewage, etc. are all problems with relatively clear and manageable costs. Internet access is not. One can use satellite Internet pretty much anywhere on the planet, but speed and cost are just not good enough to work online.
Why Starlink
Likely it will take lots of small boats staying out there to get the world ready for the first big Seastead. And Starlink will be the key technology to enable that. Those small boats have everything they need: electricity, navigation, seaworthiness, etc. But creating value, working while on the High Seas? That will only be possible once Elon turns Starlink on for the entire world.
PS. if you like Elon and SpaceX, here is their ISS landing simulation: https://iss-sim.spacex.com/
