The prediction, in brief:

I have heard people say the hype can’t last. But so far if you were to bet on that point of view you would have lost all your money. There are stakeholders in the Internet. They fix the problems. The bandwidth isn’t wide enough, we give more. If government tries to stop it, the Net reconnects around (borders).

Predictor: Schmidt, Eric

Prediction, in context:

In a 1995 article for Newsweek, writers Steven Levy, Katie Hafner and Roger Adams quote Eric Schmidt, vice president of technology for Sun Microsystems. They write:”Maybe the Net really is evolving into some sort of self-healing organic system, made of wires, silicon and a superb collection of human brains and emotions. Though some folks are making millions – billions! – on the Net, the real fuel for the excitement is the connectedness, the thrill of putting one’s own brick into the ultimate edifice of human creation. Only if this essential collaborative aspect of the Net is compromised can any company or individual dominate it. Adherents believe that the Net will never let that happen. ‘I have heard people say the hype can’t last,’ says Sun’s Eric Schmidt. ‘But so far if you were to bet on that point of view you would have lost all your money. There are stakeholders in the Internet. They fix the problems. The bandwidth isn’t wide enough, we give more. If government tries to stop it, the Net reconnects around (borders).'”

Biography:

Eric Schmidt was chief technology officer at Sun Microsystems from 1983-1997, where he earned international recognition as an Internet pioneer. He was also instrumental in the development and widespread acceptance of Java – Sun’s highly successful 1990s Internet programming language. He later worked as chief executive at Google. (Pioneer/Originator.)

Date of prediction: December 1, 1995

Topic of prediction: Information Infrastructure

Subtopic: General

Name of publication: Newsweek

Title, headline, chapter name: The Year of the Internet

Quote Type: Direct quote

Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Page 26

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