The Evolution of Digital Platforms: From APIs to Language

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” - Ludwig Wittgenstein

The digital landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past few decades, with language playing a pivotal role. In our quest for efficiency, understanding, and innovation, we have moved from creating platforms with application programming interfaces (APIs) to envisioning platforms as languages.

The Era of APIs

APIs have been the backbone of digital platforms for years. They provide a set of rules and protocols that allow different software applications to communicate with each other. APIs have enabled the creation of dynamic, feature-rich applications by allowing developers to leverage existing services and codebases.

APIs are a powerful tool in the realm of software development, reducing the time and effort required to build complex applications. They also foster collaboration by enabling developers to seamlessly integrate and build upon the work of others.

The Shift Towards Language

While APIs have served us well, the digital world is entering a new era, where the focus is shifting from platforms as APIs to platforms as languages.

This shift is driven by the understanding that language is a powerful tool for shaping our reality. Just as our spoken languages have shaped our societies, beliefs, and innovations, programming languages are poised to become the next major force propelling humanity into a new digital era.

The idea here is not just about creating new programming languages, but about embracing the concept of platforms as a language in themselves. Language is the ultimate target.

Language as the Ultimate Target

In the realm of programming, where binary code choreographs digital symphonies, we uncover a world beyond binary. Here, technology shapes our reality by bridging the gap between machines and humans. The language of technology is, in itself, a bridge.

But why is language the ultimate target?

Language, in its essence, is a tool for communication. It allows us to share stories, ideas, and dreams, shaping our evolution and propelling us forward. In the context of digital platforms, language offers a similar potential.

Programming languages, born from efficiency and precision, mirror our pursuit of harmony. They are catalysts, propelling innovation and evolution. In this universe, the ‘Not Invented Here’ syndrome fades away. Developers evolve from individual creators to being part of a global symphony.

The heart of this paradigm lies in the idea of a monorepo language. This concept isn’t just about sharing code; it’s about weaving together the very fabric of a digital ecosystem, allowing developers to swim together in a unified digital ocean.

The Power of a Unified Vision

Sharing code, maintaining the sacredness of state, and creating a unified vision through a single language - these are the hallmarks of the language paradigm. It fosters collaboration, promotes transparency, enables immediate adaptability, and simplifies dependencies.

In this universe, every line of code, every state transition is visible. It’s like having an X-ray vision into applications, understanding not just the ‘how’ but also the ‘why’.

Imagine a world where importing a function is as organic as invoking a local method. This is the promise of language as the ultimate target.

The World Beyond

Just as the world is powered and restricted by physical laws, most of humanity and society are powered and restricted by languages and communication. We can draw a parallel between physical laws allowing us to build many things, and languages allowing us to build even more.

The ultimate target is not to use programming languages to write apps and APIs anymore, but to create a language so powerful that it can become its own set of laws. This would allow us to make a new loop and create a whole new world. It’s not about writing a virtual machine anymore, but about writing a virtual society. It’s not anymore about trying to translate what we know for thousands of years into a digital equivalent; but creating new things that we can barely imagine today.

graph LR
    A[Spoken Language] --> B[Written Language]
    B --> C[Programming Languages]
    C --> D[Language as a Platform]
    D --> E[Language as a Law]

The Language of Laws

In a world where language becomes law, the code we write would not just be about creating software applications, but about defining the rules and principles that govern our digital society. Imagine a language so powerful that it can be used to encode not just algorithms, but the very laws that underpin our interactions and transactions.

Here’s a hypothetical example of what such a code might look like:

// Define a new law
law RightToPrivacy {
    // Every individual has the right to control their personal data
    rule PersonalDataControl(person: Individual) {
        return person.hasControlOver(person.data)
    }

    // Personal data cannot be accessed without consent
    rule NoDataAccessWithoutConsent(data: Data, accessor: Entity) {
        return data.owner.hasGivenConsentTo(accessor)
    }
}

// Define a new law
law FreedomOfSpeech {
    // Every individual has the right to express their opinions freely
    rule FreeExpression(person: Individual, opinion: Expression) {
        return !isCensored(opinion)
    }

    // No individual should be persecuted for their opinions
    rule NoPersecutionForOpinions(person: Individual, opinion: Expression) {
        return !isPersecuted(person, opinion)
    }
}

// Enforce the laws
enforce(RightToPrivacy)
enforce(FreedomOfSpeech)

In this pseudocode, we’re defining two laws: RightToPrivacy and FreedomOfSpeech. Each law has a set of rules that define what it means to uphold that law. For example, the RightToPrivacy law has a rule that states that every individual has the right to control their personal data.

The enforce function at the end signifies the application of these laws, ensuring that they are upheld in our digital society.

This is a simple illustration of how a language could evolve into a platform for defining and enforcing laws. It’s a glimpse into a future where programming languages are not just tools for building software, but instruments for shaping digital societies.

The Dawn of a New Era

This is the dawn of a new era, where we are not just creating digital platforms, but entire digital societies. A society where the language is the law, and the law is the language . A society that is not bound by the physical laws of the universe, but by the laws we write in our code.

This is a world where we are not just developers, but lawmakers, architects, and builders of a new reality. A reality that is not confined to the physical world, but extends into the digital realm.

In this world, every line of code is a law, every function is a building block, and every program is a city in the digital landscape. This is a world where we can create, explore, and innovate without limits.

graph LR
    A[Reality] -- Shaped by --> B[Language]
    B -- Becomes --> C[Platform]
    C -- Leads to --> D[New Reality]

The Promise of the Future

The transition from APIs to language represents a significant shift in the digital world. As we continue to explore the convergence of language and technology, we uncover new possibilities for growth, innovation, and collaboration. The language of technology is more than just a tool; it’s a bridge to a more connected, transparent, and inclusive digital future.

In conclusion, the future of digital platforms lies in language. It’s not just about creating new programming languages, but about creating a new language of creation itself. A language that is so powerful, so flexible, and so intuitive, that it can become the foundation of a whole new world.

The Language of the Future

Just as English has become a universal language for global communication, the goal is to create a programming language that becomes universal. A platform that allows us to “speak” in a building way, always constructing a world.

My goal is to build that language, making a new loop where I hope I’ll see people create new things above which are not only apps, but maybe other languages or worlds or virtual equivalent of physical laws that themselves recursively could allow us to go beyond, one