AI
Models become the interface layer above search, software and services.
A briefing in eight movements · a farewell
The Internet&Technology
A network of networks — how it rewired civilisation, and where it goes next.
ConnectivityComputationConsequence
2026
The state of the network
A planet wired in three decades
0people online — roughly 68% of humanity
0still offline
0of data created in 2025
0average daily time online
Sources: ITU Facts & Figures · IDC DataSphere · GWI
Architecture
The stack: four layers, one contract
01
Physical
Subsea cables, fibre, spectrum and data centres.
02
Protocol
TCP/IP, DNS, BGP and TLS keep strangers in sync.
03
Platform
Cloud, APIs and identity turn protocols into products.
04
People
Billions of endpoints of attention, trust and risk.
The current platform shift
Four forces reshaping everything
Cloud
Compute and storage rented by the second from a handful of hyperscalers.
Mobile-first
The default screen for the next billion users — not the desktop.
Edge & 5G
Latency measured in milliseconds instead of miles.
Compounding
Cloud enables AI, AI demands edge capacity, mobile distributes both.
When the cloud touches the ground
The physical internet nobody sees
0of subsea cable carries almost all intercontinental traffic
0drawn by data centres — about 1.5% of world electricity
0landing hubs — Egypt, Singapore, Oman — concentrate the risk
One anchor drag can knock a country offline for hours.
Promise and price
What we gained, what it cost
What we gained
- Access. Knowledge, markets and identity for billions.
- Growth. A new productivity layer in every sector.
- Coordination. Logistics, research and payments at global speed.
What it cost us
- Attention. Misinformation travels faster than correction.
- Security. Cybercrime at roughly $10.5T a year.
- Concentration. A few firms hold the choke points.
- Material. 62 Mt of electronics discarded yearly.
The next decade is already here
Five shifts already underway
- 2026
AI-native web
Agents browse, negotiate and transact on our behalf.
- 2027
Post-quantum crypto
Migration to PQC standards becomes non-negotiable.
- 2028
6G & satellites
Terrestrial networks merge with orbital constellations.
- 2030
Ambient computing
Interfaces dissolve into objects, rooms and clothing.
- 2035
Spatial identity
Presence, payment and reputation fuse into one layer.
Three commitments that decide the next decade
The network is a choice
- 01Build for openness — interoperability is the compounding asset.
- 02Treat security and energy as design constraints, not afterthoughts.
- 03The next billion users are the next billion opportunities.
The last word belongs to the machine
Thank You for Listening
Ask it anything. It has been waiting three decades for the question.
— transmitted at 300,000 km/s
