[The Editors' Verdict] Techno-Feudalism

The medieval feudal era in Europe can be said to have begun with the introduction of the "stirrup." A stirrup is a footrest attached to a horse saddle. Although it is just a small triangular piece of metal, its introduction to Europe in the 8th century marked a turning point that changed the course of history.

The biggest change was in the nature of warfare. Until then, cavalrymen could not ride horses in a stable posture. Without a fixed device, it was dangerous to swing a sword or spear on a running horse. To avoid falling off the horse, riders had to squeeze the horse's body with their legs, which was not easy for cavalrymen who had to fight enemies. Training cavalrymen itself was a challenge.

However, once the stirrup was attached to the saddle, the situation changed. Mobility in battle increased, and the role of cavalry expanded. It is also believed that Europe was able to fend off the northern Viking invasions because of the use of stirrups. The growth of cavalry enabled a symbiotic relationship between lords and knights. This was the dawn of the feudal era. Knights protected lords, and lords provided land to knights, laying the foundation of feudalism. Lords bought church lands to train knights, and knights raised and trained horses, which were vital to their lives, to protect the lords.

The reason for mentioning feudalism is the so-called "techno-feudalism" that has recently been circulating in the West. Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind, famous for AlphaGo, in his book "The Coming Wave," evaluated that small technological changes are recreating past feudalism and expressed that "techno-feudalism is coming." Although this term was originally coined by a Greek scholar, it is now spreading throughout the Western world.

This expression has become popular because the ecosystems built by giant IT companies based on technology resemble the feudal system of the Middle Ages. To use Amazon's cloud services, users pay subscription fees, and they download necessary applications (apps) from Apple's App Store. This relationship, where stable services are provided in exchange for fees, is seen as no different from the relationship between lords and knights in the past.

Recently, our IT industry suffered from the Platform Act. The Fair Trade Commission designated platform companies with monopolistic positions as dominant businesses and announced plans to apply four types of prohibited unfair practices, but withdrew the plan after industry backlash. This was the result of the entire industry rising up against attempts to artificially dismantle the already established ecosystem through regulation.

Techno-feudalism has become an irreversible phenomenon. It has become a massive trend in itself. Whether companies or consumers, now they can conduct economic activities stably by simply paying fees within the stable ecosystems provided by big tech (large information technology companies). It cannot be denied that there are concerns that competition will decrease and innovation will disappear as a trade-off.

However, it is also clear that market logic cannot be overridden because of these concerns. The ecosystems of big tech must be resolved through competition among themselves. Rather, expanding the choices for consumers and companies is what government authorities should do.

Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind, said, "Small technological changes can fundamentally shift the balance of power over the coming decades." It is important to remember that the Renaissance, which dismantled feudalism, occurred spontaneously rather than through policy.