Martin Kleppmann — Local-first in an unstable world

Local-first computing offers a provocative design principle for the technological infrastructure of the Great Transition: put agency, resilience, and ownership back at the edges of the network. Martin Kleppmann explores an alternative to today’s cloud-dependent model in which applications and data increasingly depend upon centralized services, corporate infrastructure, and continuous connectivity. Local-first approaches instead enable software to function primarily on users’ own devices while synchronizing and collaborating across networks when available. The significance extends beyond software architecture. In an increasingly unstable world, systems that can continue functioning locally, tolerate disruption, preserve user control, and coordinate without dependence on a single center embody many of the same principles found in resilient living systems. In Three Horizons terms, local-first computing offers a Horizon 2 pathway toward more distributed Horizon 3 digital infrastructure—technology designed around autonomy, interoperability, resilience, and cooperation rather than dependence and centralized control.

I want to Learn and I have between 30 and 60 minutes

Source: Martin Kleppmann

Functional Sector: Relationships, Economics

Date Added: 2026-09-11

	Category: Regenerative
	Format: Video
	Duration: between 30 and 60 minutes