We need to protect the power that allows us to connect our collective intelligence, as described a few weeks ago in my blog on connected minds. I argued that in order to address some of our global challenges we have to start looking at a radically new way to address them.

The events in Egypt brought home the fact that if it comes to the crunch any government can disconnect us simply by bringing the Internet and other communications systems down at will, simply by a flick of a switch. And in future they will be able to do this selectively, with more sophisticated means, using new technologies and ICT investments for that purpose. As we have seen in China, western ICT companies are only too happy to develop technologies that can be used to such ends. At the same time of course these same ICT companies will also develop new technologies that can increase the power of people to connect.

However, the aim of some governments under threat is to disrupt the ‘connected minds’ environment. As we see in countries like Egypt and Tunisia (and not so long ago in Iran) people power is very much based on the ability to connect, and authoritarian regimes don’t like that.

But let us not fool ourselves—any regime can do this. It is not inconceivable that some of today’s democratic regimes could use the same undermining tactics if the people were becoming rebellious—due to, for instance, an escalating financial crisis, environmental disasters, (fear of) terrorism and so on.

America’s reaction to Wikileaks is a clear warning sign.

More and more we see that people are seeking a different approach in relation to governance and policies and not just in countries with repressive regimes. Across the world vested political interests sometimes find these people-driven and more horizontally connected activities hard to accept, and this could lead them to toughen their position. Not just on a political level but also on an economic level, do we see glimpses of this in countries where the vertically operating vested economic interests (banks, telcos, media, health insurers, oil, tobacco) have very strong lobbying powers and are successfully influencing those with political power to prevent changes that will break down their silos and open up structures that would allow for more leaner, meaner and flatter developments. This does not just apply to people but also—as we recently reported - to the new companies that operate along these lines.

These lobbyists have built a system of complexity that is suffocating the possibility to make essential changes, innovations and reforms that are needed to manage the completely new environment in which we are now living.

Last year I wrote about the collapse of complexity. We need open networks to cut across the specialised silos that have been constructed over the last 50 years. These silos, also, have protected their own interests by making their operations extremely complicated.

At a certain stage we need to have the self-confidence to acknowledge that we have arrived at an evolutionary point where, while connectivity will be misused by some, its overall value for our society outweighs the risk.

It is therefore essential that we are able to connect our minds and it rests with all of us to ensure that we can continue to do so. We need to strongly protest against governments who are disconnecting their people, and who are actively undermining the combined intelligence that we have built up together. But equally we do need to urge governments to transform their societies and economies in order to tap into the enormous power of connected minds.