Elon University
The prediction, in brief:

[The Internet is] a fundamental transformation, [a] robust global mesh [of computers that allows] open collaboration in the hyperdevelopment and evolution of new technologies [and one that will] transform the structure, methods and individual skills within enterprises, institutions and professions of all kinds … A hundred years from now, history may well record the emergence and implementation of the Internet protocol as a profound turning point in the evolution of human communication – of much greater significance than the creation of the printing press.

Predictor: Rutkowski, Anthony Michael

Prediction, in context:

In a 1995 article for New Scientist, Joe Flower quotes Anthony Rutkowski, executive directory of the Internet Society. Flower writes: ”If the Internet struggles past the bottlenecks of excess regulation and excess information, many believe it will be one of the most powerful shapers of the 21st century. Rutkowski speaks of it as ‘a fundamental transformation,’ an entire information infrastructure built from the bottom up, a ‘robust global mesh’ of computers that allows ‘open collaboration in the hyperdevelopment and evolution of new technologies’ and one that will ‘transform the structure, methods and individual skills within enterprises, institutions and professions of all kinds … A hundred years from now, history may well record the emergence and implementation of the Internet protocol as a profound turning point in the evolution of human communication – of much greater significance than the creation of the printing press.'”

Biography:

Anthony Michael (Tony) Rutkowski was a lawyer and engineer who was an executive director of the Internet Society during some key years of development in the 1990s. (Technology Developer/Administrator.)

Date of prediction: January 1, 1995

Topic of prediction: General, Overarching Remarks

Subtopic: General

Name of publication: New Scientist

Title, headline, chapter name: Idiot’s Guide to the Net: From Boston’s Cyberbars to Siena’s Schoolrooms, Some of the Frequently Asked Questions About the Network that Connects Us All

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 2222

This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney