“How will we live without internet?” That is a very good question, but it is not the meaning of the following sentence: “Internet will disappear.” During the World Economic Forum 2015 in Davos, Google’s executive chairman, Eric Schmidt used this words. By saying this, he wanted to underline the fact that there will be so many IP address, connected device, sensors, or other things that you are interacting with that you won’t sense it. It will be a part of our life.
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Internet History
We must look backward. The Internet history began with the first electronic computer in the 1950s. The main goal was to share scientific information between laboratories. In the 1960s, was developed the ARPANET by the US Department of Defence, which would become the first network to use Internet Protocol.
Later in the 1980s, the World Wide Web was theorised by Tim Berners-Lee. The idea behind this was to admit that protocols links hypertext documents into a working system. It was the beginning of the Internet, as we know it.
Indeed, the Internet never stopped growing and evolving since this new era. Nowadays it’s a decentralized mesh network.
Key figures
There are some 2014 key figures to underline Eric Schmidt words :

  • Almost 3 billion people are using internet (40% of the world’s population)
  • 44% of households have internet access at home
  • Almost 7 billion mobile-cellular subscriptions worldwide

Source : http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ICTFactsFigures2014-e.pdf
With these statistics, it is easy to understand why internet becomes more and more present in our lives. That is why the Google’s CEO introduced his speech with this sentence.
What is next for the Internet?
With all these information, the main question should be ‘’what will be the future of the Internet?’’
Indeed, we use it all day long. The Internet becomes the main tool we use for our purpose (searching, navigating, talking with people…). In that case, it is not so surprising that we will gradually forget its existence. Our society creates value with data, so it is quite normal for our economy to erase our perception of using the Internet. The reason is, if you do not realize the fact that you are using something, you do not take care of risks when you use it.
Eventually, I agree with Eric Schmidt words. Even if the Internet will not disappear, our perception of it will be gradually erased. In order to accent our trust in the digital economy. That’s why for a company like Google, these words are very pragmatics and underline the fact that Google looks forward to keep its leadership in IT.
 

Jean-Laurent Lienhardt

Etudiant du Master 2 Droit de l’économie numérique de l’Université de Strasbourg. Autoentrepreneur dans les domaines de la comptabilité et du business consulting. Impliqué dans la recherche concernant le « Crowdfunding », je tâche d’appréhender les impacts sociaux, légaux et économiques de l’usage des nouvelles technologiques…

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