Imagine the Internet of the future

[Spanish]

Currently, the Internet connects us through servers that centralize access. If we want to share a text or other resource with another person, the message generally must be handled by one of those servers. Although we have an Internet connection, since our computers are on private networks, the other person cannot connect with us directly; to do this, you have to use an intermediate server.

It is not only about mediation through servers. Furthermore, most connections are highly concentrated and controlled by large corporations. Even when, in the best of cases, messages travel encrypted, it is these few intermediaries who define the rules of interaction, assign encryption keys, and prioritize who can be seen most easily.

Such a scheme would at least mean that the Internet is a safe place, given that control is highly concentrated. Instead, the Internet has become a space of permanent vulnerability and risk. Compared to the early years, when surfing the Internet was an experience of discovery and trust, now it is an extreme mixture of the stripping of privacy, the heavy locking of access, the constant interference of alerts and the induced obsession of being connected.

The central place that the Internet has in our lives, the need we have for it and the benefits it brings us cannot be denied. It is difficult to imagine a world without instant information and communication. Certainly, the purpose of assuming a critical stance towards the current Internet is not the nonsense of longing for a world without technology. Rather, it is about being able to imagine new scenarios that enrich the human experience; and thus, be able to build alternatives.

Therefore, it seems important to me to take on the challenge of imagining the Internet of the future. In my case, I conceive it with mechanisms that allow people to connect and share resources directly, without depending on servers and intermediary corporations. I see it as a simple experience, where we have the full decision of who to connect with and how to do it; where sharing resources, such as a folder of documents, involves a single click on our computer, without the need to upload them to a cloud or give permissions to an intermediary.

I imagine the Internet of the future with decentralized and simple identification and authentication mechanisms, with keys generated and controlled directly by us. An Internet that includes all possible people, but not as consumers. I aspire to it as a universe of spaces and times in which, instead of the endless feed of publications, the network has as many centers as there are people and the content is the authentic human experience.

Feb. 09, 2024