Projects as a network of promises?

I came across Andrew Hintonś excellent slides while reading David Weinbergerś blog. Left me wondering if this architecture will or is already pervading the way we manage projects. Imagine project management was managing a platform or arena for conversations among multiple players interconnected with a network of promises and commitments. There is no distinctive top-down hierarchy from a project manager to ¨worker bees¨. When a promise is broken, the network indicates that or even better - tags that. Smarter ones may trigger an automatic healing process and like a GPS device directs back the link by re-promising or re-distributing the networked chain of existing promises. Will this be more efficient than the conventional model?

I remember one of my business professors teaching that one of the goals of an information system in an organization is to ensure that it replicates the organizational hierarchy. In other words, the access to information should match who in the organization should be able to get what. Networks flattens the flow of information since the ¨intern¨ can access the same file in the corporate server as the CEO. We have been using administrative controls to manage that. But let s say, we work backwards and let the possibility of information networks dictate the way projects are staffed, organized, and managed. Will that work? Any thoughts?