The Interconnected Network

Remember ARPANET?

The U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first public packet-switched computer network. The early days of the internet, particularly ARPANET, involved universities like MIT, Stanford, and UCLA. It was centralized to ensure security, manageability, and controlled development. Limited resources and expertise meant a focused, centralized approach was necessary to build a reliable infrastructure before scaling it out.

Centralized Control Remained Unchanged

The internet began as a highly centralized entity. In the early days, it was primarily controlled by a few institutions and organizations, most notably ARPANET, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Defense in the late 1960s. This centralized control ensured rigorous standards and protocols, but it also limited widespread access and innovation.

1980s:

Commercial entities started to recognize the potential of the internet. The creation of Domain Name Systems (DNS) in 1983 and the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989 laid and hardened the foundation for broader use.

1990s:

The internet began to open up to the public. The launch of web browsers like Mosaic and Netscape Navigator allowed users to navigate the web more easily. Companies like AOL and Yahoo! emerged, providing centralized portals for internet access. Social media started to make its mark toward the late '90s with platforms like Six Degrees and early blogging sites.

2000s:

Social media truly took off with the advent of platforms like MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. Search engines like Google became dominant, centralizing the way people found information. Tech giants such as Amazon and eBay revolutionized e-commerce, bringing more centralized control to the online marketplace. By the middle of the decade, this infrastructure shifted entertainment toward on-demand streaming services like Netflix, Spotify, iQiYi and QQ Music in every continent.

2010s:

It is the "mobile-first" revolution, where the global adoption of 4G LTE networks transformed smartphones into essential hubs for daily life.

This high-speed connectivity gave rise to the sharing economy, revolutionary businesses that famously do not own any of the physical assets they monetize, such as platform giants like Uber and Airbnb. More such companies emerged and scaled rapidly thanks to cloud computing, with big data propelled business analytics and decision-making.

Importantly, at the core of the tech world, we witnessed how artificial intelligence gained widespread mainstream traction towards the end of 2010s, driven in part by voice assistants like Apple’s Siri and Amazon Alexa with new players, like Alibaba, Baidu and Samsung, poised for a bigger share of the market.

2020s:

Midway through this decade, artificial intelligence has moved further from the margins to the core of the tech world, evolving from a helpful tool into a powerful force—Generative AI, which creates content, and Agentic AI, which executes complex and autonomous workflows.

This "new era" is shifting autonomous systems from pilot projects to practical real-world applications driving massive growth in the physical world, further pushing new frontiers of computing and enablinghumanoid robotics to handle real-world labor in all quadrants of the globe.

My Thoughts

This evolution brought about significant advancements but also raised concerns about privacy, security, and the monopolistic control of digital landscapes. At the same time, different regions are developing their own ecosystems, regulations, and technologies, contributing to a more fragmented yet interconnected digital world.

This ongoing shift raises important questions about access, governance, and the future direction of the internet. And this is what I am here for.