The last 40, the next 40: The Internet's arc

This paper focuses on the past, present, and future of the Internet. It briefly overviews the first 40‐year development of the Internet, including the four‐node packet switched net, the packet radio program, the stanford research institute packet radio van, ARPANET, transmission control protocol/internet protocol, and National Science Foundation Network. It then elaborates the next 40‐year development of the Internet, discussing its unfinished business in seven major aspects of technology development (e.g., establishing various standards and developing reliable and updateable software) and five aspects of technology consequences (e.g., Internet of things and artificial intelligence/machine learning, and misinformation, disinformation). It concludes with four key messages, stressing that the Internet will continue to evolve as an open technology environment.