The world’s largest communications network may be right under your feet, and no, we didn’t build it: it was created by fungi. Fungal filaments beneath the ground are similar to the fiber optic cables we lay around the world to access sites like ICE Casino, but they’re much older and capable of much more. It seems Mother Nature has done a much better and more efficient job than we did: fungal networks could guide humanity on how to build a better internet.
What Is the Mycelial Network?
You see fungi above ground, but the parts of them that lie underground are much larger and more extensive than you might imagine. As fungi grow, they use microscopic threads called “hyphae.” These threads combine with each other to create a network called “mycelium.” This network can sometimes cover acres of land.
We can compare the mycelium network to the roots of trees: imagine the roots of all the trees in a forest interconnected underground. Mycelium is similar, but it uses much finer threads than tree roots and can do much more than just anchor:
- This fungal network is also used by trees: trees in a forest exchange carbon with neighboring plants through it.
- Mycelium can transmit chemical and electrical signals, allowing it to warn other plants about hazards and risks (for example, a pathogen or drought).
- The fungal network is mostly located just below the ground, but when resources are depleted, it can extend deeper and reach richer soil.
In fact, this alone demonstrates how similar mycelium is to the human internet, and a table can help you see this more clearly.
Parallels Between Mycelium and the Internet
The similarities between fungal networks and the internet are quite striking:
| MYCELIUM | INTERNET |
| Fungal colonies and plant roots form the nodes of this network. | Nodes are servers, routers, and end-user devices. |
| It connects with hyphae. | Uses fiber optic cables. |
| It transmits chemical and electrical messages. | Transmits digital data packets. |
| It uses feedback loops for routing. | Has protocols that dynamically modify packets. |
| It can change its location by being fault-tolerant. | Uses multipath routing for fault tolerance. |
| It can regenerate itself after being damaged. | Can automatically reroute if a connection attempt fails. |
Hyphae are what this network is built upon and uses to grow. They constantly probe the environment and determine the most efficient route for growth. The fungal network formed approximately 400 million years ago and operates much more efficiently than our internet.
What Can We Learn From the Fungal Network?
Such a natural network has much to teach us. For example:
- We can learn to conserve energy. Mycelium is arguably the world’s least energy-consuming communication network. It allows only the most reliable pathways to grow and allocates resources to them. It gives back almost everything it takes from the environment; it just doesn’t consume.
- We can build a self-healing internet. When a branch of the mycelium is damaged, the network temporarily disables that section, reroutes communication, and begins repairing the damaged part. Mesh WiFi networks and decentralized blockchains can also be designed to behave this way.
- We can create a decentralized internet. There is no single central fungus controlling the mycelium. Local interactions determine where and how the network will grow. There is no center that organizes traffic; communication is controlled by hyphae branches, and none of them has an advantage over the other. This can inspire us to create better peer-to-peer networks.
- We can make adaptive learning a part of the internet network. Mycelium is built on feedback loops, meaning successful routes grow faster and can handle more traffic. Using machine learning algorithms, we can apply a similar system to the internet. For example, the algorithm can optimize a large-scale network much more quickly and efficiently using the same principles.
But fungal networks can also inspire us to do much more: you can find some examples below.
Research and Applications
Fungal networks are currently being used in research, including the following, and some examples have begun to be used in the real world:
- Creating biohybrid sensors. Mycelium is much better at detecting risks and hazards and is faster than any human-made device. This could be used to create biohybrid sensors that detect environmental changes. A network of these sensors would consume almost no energy. They can detect fires, drought, and many other dangers that affect the environment.
- Creating eco-networks. It may also be possible to use fungal networks in the agricultural sector. Nutrient delivery mechanisms could be used to generate moisture and collect data below the soil, even in very large fields. This would also consume almost no energy.
- Creating biocomputers. While this may sound like science fiction, it is currently the subject of numerous studies. Mycelium is currently intelligent enough to solve mazes (remember, it can determine optimal routes), and this ability could be used to optimize the operation of computer systems & networks. Living computers could be possible thanks to fungal networks.
In short, this network created by Mother Earth can help us communicate better, create an environmentally friendly internet, and make various sectors more efficient. Perhaps we should look underground, not to the sky, for inspiration. Mycelium is a communication system older than humans and is much better at being part of the environment than we are. This alone can guide us to create a better internet.