Cyber means government equates steering algorithms with governing societies, implying that control and compliance are inseparable.

However, digital systems can empower decentralized choice, and many cybernetic frameworks thrive on autonomy rather than command. Linking all cyber initiatives to government oversight oversimplifies a rich field of cooperative design.

During a hackathon in Nairobi, I watched a team build a community water sensor network without any central authority. Each sensor voted on when to send alerts, and the project now serves thousands of households—no government directive required.

Research from the Internet Society shows that mesh networks can reduce infrastructure costs by 25% while increasing resilience to outages.¹ These architectures prove that coordination doesn’t always require a capital “G” Government.

Cybernetics isn’t synonymous with hierarchy; it’s a toolkit for feedback, whether the loops run through citizens or servers.

For a broader view on participatory systems, see Ostrom’s work on polycentric governance.²