Chapter 1: The Concept of Crowdsourcing Through History

Crowdsourcing is an age-old concept that has evolved over time, and it may hold the key to solving some of humanity’s most pressing challenges.

Crowdsourcing is defined as the practice of delegating tasks to a large group or the general public, often facilitated by online platforms. — Cambridge Dictionary

Although the term "crowdsourcing" is relatively recent, its roots trace back much further. The online solutions provider Clickworker suggests that the term first appeared in 2006 in Wired Magazine, coined by author Jeff Howe, who described it as a new form of outsourcing that allows companies to rapidly and cost-effectively develop new technologies.

You might not realize it, but you’ve likely encountered crowdsourcing in action. For instance, every time you navigate Wikipedia, you are participating in a crowdsourced endeavor. Its applications extend far beyond this simple example.

In 2009, the Oxford University-led "Galaxy Zoo Project" utilized crowdsourcing, engaging 84,000 volunteers to categorize 300,000 galaxies, resulting in 16 million classifications within just 14 months.

Ever wonder how Netflix tailors movie recommendations for you? The company improved its algorithms through crowdsourcing, offering a million-dollar reward to any team that could enhance their predictive model around the same time as the Galaxy Zoo Project.

Another example is the XPRIZE Foundation, which incentivized private space exploration and contributed to the creation of companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic.

Perhaps the most striking instance of crowdsourcing is found in the platform Innocentive, established in 2001 by Eli Lilly employees, which claims to have fostered a community of 500,000 problem-solvers and facilitated over 200,000 solutions while distributing $60 million in prizes.

Despite being a new term, the idea of crowdsourcing has historical precedents. In 1714, the British Parliament offered a £20,000 prize to resolve the issue of maritime longitude, ultimately won by John Harrison, a self-taught clockmaker, in 1735. Similarly, in 1790, Doctor Nicolas Leblanc responded to a challenge from the French Academy of Sciences with a process for producing soda ash.

Yet, the origins of crowdsourcing extend even further back. A notable example from Classical Greece involved the challenge of conquering walled cities.

Chapter 2: Ancient Greece and the Challenge of Siege Warfare

During Greece's Golden Age, city walls represented the pinnacle of defensive technology. Attackers typically employed strategies that involved surrounding the city to starve its inhabitants, a process that was often lengthy and resource-intensive. A prime illustration of this can be seen during the Peloponnesian War when Athens managed to withstand a siege by Sparta and its allies for nearly three decades.

Dionysius I, the king of Syracuse in the fourth century BC, faced a similar predicament. Well-acquainted with siege warfare, he sought innovative solutions through competition—a method familiar to the Greeks through the Olympic Games and various artistic contests.

Dionysius invited engineers from across the Greek world to Syracuse to participate in a contest. Those who succeeded would receive financial rewards and acclaim. This ancient form of crowdsourcing yielded impressive results.

According to Serafina Cuomo in her article, "The Sinews of War: Ancient Catapults," some of the earliest catapults and ballistae were developed during this competition.

Originally referred to as "belopoietics," which combines the terms for projectile-throwing devices and creation, the competition produced far more than just siege engines. It also spurred the design of larger ships, including the Syracusia—the largest vessel of its time.

Chapter 3: Lessons from the Past for Present Challenges

The ancient world’s use of crowdsourcing to address pressing issues, like breaching city walls, is a testament to its efficacy. From the 18th century's navigation challenges to catalyzing modern commercial space endeavors, this strategy has proven invaluable.

Humanity currently faces a crisis that has persisted since our earliest days, one that will become particularly relevant as asteroid 4660 Nereus approaches Earth on December 11, 2021. Though this asteroid will pass at a safe distance, a 2019 near-miss event went undetected, raising concerns about our preparedness for such threats.

The Washington Post reported that this undetected asteroid could have impacted with the force of a nuclear explosion had it been on a collision course.

This raises a critical question: What if we employed crowdsourcing to tackle existential threats? Imagine a contest that dwarfs even the XPRIZE—a modern parallel to the ancient Syracuse initiative.

NASA has initiated the DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission to explore the possibility of redirecting asteroids through impact. However, this is merely a preliminary test of one approach.

Why not adopt the collaborative spirit of the belopoietics creation strategy? Picture thousands of teams brainstorming diverse solutions to combat this existential dilemma. The best ideas could be further developed into viable projects, incentivizing not only cash rewards but also the prestige associated with saving humanity from catastrophe.

“Hey Joe, what have you been up to?”

“Uh, just saved the Earth from a cataclysmic extinction event. You know, the usual.”

While this notion might seem ambitious, an ancient king from Syracuse would likely find it entirely plausible.

The first video titled "Can Our Collective Efforts Prevent Imminent Human Extinction with Stephen Luby" explores innovative strategies that could help humanity avert potential extinction.

The second video, "How Humans Will Survive a Mass Extinction | Annalee Newitz | Talks at Google," delves into the future of human resilience in the face of extinction events.