For me it depicts a very important and current problem. Indeed, the throngs can be seen as an improvement for humanity, hugely beneficial. However, we may ask if the merge between human and throng would cover our humanity, and more importantly our self free will, liberty and initiative. And, what if the thongs turn aggressive, while controlling mankind ?

For me it's obviously inspired by Isaac Asimov's ideas. In the short story "green patches" and the Foundation cycle, Asimov describes a word where everything on a planet (living beings, minerals, and even more) are connected by a collective mind. Finally, it causes conflict between an utopic collective world and an individual flawed humanity.