He inspired many Internet stakeholders with his book Technologies of Freedom. In it, he projected that interconnected computing devices would be joined to form an open-ended, all-encompassing structure. He described it as “the largest machine that man has ever constructed—the global telecommunications network; the full map of it no one knows; it changes every day” (1983, p. 56), and he projected that it would be questioned by regulators fearing the challenge to the economic and political status quo. He warned that a positive future would be delayed if regulators chose to interfere. His research was an inspiration for the initiation of the Imagining the Internet project and surveys.
Survey Respondents
We are thankful for the thoughtful and revealing contributions of the thousands of international participants in the Future of the Internet surveys. Their insights are helping to create significant knowledge about the past, present, and future of information technologies.