Vint Cerf

Google Inc. | Google · Research Department

Four and half years ago, Erik Nygren posted a blog at Akamai [1] on the likelihood that IPv6-only mobile networks might drive IPv6 deployment. So far, that speculation has not proven dispositive, but a 5G initiative toward IPv6-only could mark a turning point. Six months ago, Geoff Huston, chief scientist of APNIC, published an in-depth evaluation...

Let us imagine that it is 1895. Telegraphy and telephony are well established. Common forms of transportation include ships, canals, railroads, horses and horse drawn carts.

In this 2019 interview, Vint Cerf, co-creator of the Internet, reflects on the evolution of the Internet from a computational to a social medium. He shares his concerns about the spread of disinformation and the way that the negative feedback loop created by rating systems encourage the propagation of sensationalism and falsehoods. He argues that,...

This paper focuses on the past, present, and future of the Internet. It briefly overviews the first 40‐year development of the Internet, including the four‐node packet switched net, the packet radio program, the stanford rsesearch institute packet radio van, ARPANET, transmission control protocol/internet protocol, and National Science Foundation N...

AI is cutting labor costs and workers are struggling to be valuable. The People Centered Economy (PCE) is a 'Copernican Revolution' placing people, not tasks, at the center of the economy. PCE has a handy definition of the economy: people create and exchange value, served by organization. In PCE, innovation makes people value each other more (not l...

Everything on the Internet need not be connected.

Even today, computing technology continues to oscillate between localized and centralized data storage and processing.

Software arose as a way to compute solutions to business and engineering problems more quickly. But it has become ubiquitous across billions of devices - in our homes, cars, workplaces, and in our hands - providing instant information, entertainment, and keeping us in continuous contact. This spread of automation has fueled a massive rise in produc...

Self-driving vehicles must contend with many possibilities, including the behavior of bad actors

Now more than ever, we must employ the same tools and methods that built the Internet to improve its safety, security, privacy and utility.

As a practising computer scientist, I thought I had a fairly good grasp of Alan Turing's many contributions to the field. But The Turing Guide by Jack Copeland, Jonathan Bowen, Mark Sprevak and Robin Wilson has opened up a universe of Turing's other pursuits I knew nothing about, inflating my admiration for him and his work.

In our globally interconnected world, the questions of how we share and what we share is becoming increasingly important.

With more than 30 years since the Internet’s inception, Internet identifier spaces need an overhaul to make them more useful. Here, Vint Cerf explores why this exceptional challenge is easier said than done.

Affordable computing and memory capacity have enabled fascinating work in the "world" of computer visualization and simulation. As high-resolution complexities are modeled, offering new and sometimes unexpected results, these intricate artifacts answer questions while leading to new ones.

A byproduct of a society filled with technological innovation is the need to keep apace. This is true in the devices used, and the skills that each person learns. With that in mind, how can individuals use upskilling to find greater satisfaction?

Neural networks have been widely lauded for their success in handling specific tasks. But as humans deploy neural networks to perform under more complex and diverse parameters, with larger decisions and responsibilities at stake, what are their blind spots? How might those affect the ways in which neural networks interact with complex systems?

Modern societies are left to grapple with the tension between strongly held ideals, such as freedom of speech and a free Internet, and purveyors of malevolent software or false content. How can nations work with the technology sector to explore solutions to these issues?

Despite the promise and possibility of such technology, the frequency and sheer number of devices to be configured within an Internet of Things network can leave the door open to some frightening possibilities.

In an age of high competition and innovation, often companies push to be first on the market, in full knowledge that the initial version isn't perfect, with plans to improve it or address other functionalities in updates. Where should the ethical line be drawn, though, between market competitiveness and quality assurance in engineering?

The Internet was designed to function in a location-agnostic fashion, but there will always be legal considerations and jurisdictions trying to tether the Web to geographical rules and constraints. How will geography and intellectual property affect future Internet practices?

As we move toward an era of the Internet of Things, loss of security and privacy becomes a greater risk, and responsible programming becomes a greater concern. It's only a matter of time until programmers are held accountable for the quality and safety of their work, so how can the industry plan accordingly?

One key area that continues to be problematic for entrepreneurial businesses that wish to serve the broadband market is the question of ensuring competition in multiple-dwelling units (MDUs) and private developments managed by a single landlord or entity. As is the case in Indonesia, many MDUs around the world enter into exclusive arrangements with...

What's the recipe for success in scientific research? A look at Ben Schneiderman's latest book, The New ABCs of Research, underscores the importance of collaborative research working across multiple disciplines to provide practical solutions.

Natural languages like English are rich, complex, and powerful. The highly creative and graceful use of languages like English and Tamil, by masters like Shakespeare and Avvaiyar, can certainly delight and inspire. But in practice, given cognitive constraints and the exigencies of daily life, most human utterances are far simpler and much more repe...

Centralized power generation and widespread distribution contribute to major vulnerabilities for US energy. To ensure secure power grid systems for the future, engineers face daunting challenges: How can they rethink the design of monitoring and control systems that are more robust and localized, while also working with more renewable resources and...

Our physical universe has been transformed by computing's ubiquity. The authors describe the challenges and delights we'll find in a future enabled by the Internet of Things.