Rebuilding the Internet
As a person with a reductionist point of view I think that the internet as a service can easily be rebuilt. But rebuilding the Internet is much different (notice the capital I).
I think the first place to start is by defining what the Internet does, and to me that is communication. At it’s core the Internet is a communications device. Most often it is used for text information like this post you are reading right now. But it can also support other mediums of communications like phone calls through a technology called VoIP.
This communication takes place through a system that is best understood through the OSI Model pictured above. In short there are many layers, but they boil down to this. First we need a physical connection to send messages through, then we need a way to recognize the messages, and finally we need to understand the message. An interesting is that human conversations follow a similar model if you think about it. First we need to have a physical medium to communicate through like the air or a book, then we use language to recognize the message, and finally we use our brains the turn word into thoughts to understand the message.
With this simplistic model of the internet one might wonder “where” the Internet is. And I think it is in the end devices, the computers, because they are the source, destination, and purpose of the signals. Without the users there would be no purpose of this infrastructure. And I would believe that humans are the things that encapsulate the devices.
This is all because the Internet was created for all of us. It was created so that we can all communicate with one another. The purpose of the Internet is to interconnect Us, humans to one another.
If the Internet went poof and went away along with all technology we have currently, I would argue that one can rebuild it with two cans and a piece of string as communication is all that is needed for the Internet to exist.
If I had to rebuild an Internet 2.0 and still had the Internet I would enhance the capabilities of it currently. For example if you return to the OSI model above you may see that there is no layer for security/protection. This is what I would add as the Internet, while wonderful, is also dangerous. By allowing anyone to communicate with everyone it opens up the door for abuse. If we were to somehow integrate security and protection into the Internet at a base level it would make it a better resource for all.
Artist Statement — I’m a Comp Sci Major and as such I have actually taken a class on what the internet is. So on top of having a reductionist world view I actually have the knowledge to know how to reduce the Internet. I could reduce it further but I kept it short for clarity and time’s sake.
PS — Sorry about the stock photo Internet recreation I didn’t have two spare cans laying around.