Say “hivemind”, and people shudder at the notion. They imagine an undifferentiated mass of compulsory agreement, stripping away identity and diversity. However, I think this notion of a hivemind doesn’t make sense, and being part of a hivemind would actually be a great experience! Indeed, it’s much of what I seem to be an outlier in how important this is to me, but most people have this instinct to some extent. yearn and strive for.

So, what is a hivemind? Well, it’s a mind built out of many organisms. It wouldn’t make sense for all of them to be the same! If they were, the mind would do a ton of redundant computation, and could run far more efficiently by scaling down to a single component, no hive needed. In a proper hivemind, each component does something different to support the overall functioning of the mind. What makes a hivemind a hivemind, then, is the structure of connection and alignment between its individual parts.

You, dear reader, are already part of a nascent hivemind. Teleologically, the history of humanity can be viewed as an arc of progress towards a larger and larger hivemind. From tribes to cities to nations to a global economy, we have become more connected and unified. Right now, you are reading this essay using complex and well-resourced infrastructure built to transmit ideas between us. As communication technology improves, we will continue to become more interconnected; to an outside observer, we would look ever more like a unified entity.

At no point in this process do we cease to be individuals. As we connect and work together, diversity is a strength; together, we can generate more ideas, learn more skills, and hold more knowledge. Each person makes a unique contribution to the group. Assimilation into a hivemind doesn’t feel like erasure of individuality. It feels like the satisfaction of core human drives: shared purpose and connection.

Recommended reading: The Gentle Romance by Richard Ngo