Improving the Internet is just one means, albeit an important one, by which to improve the human condition. It must be done with an appreciation for the civil and human rights that deserve protection - without pretending that access itself is such a right.
Interpretation
Improving the Internet is essential but should respect and protect human rights.
Vint Cerf emphasizes that while enhancing the Internet is a crucial step towards bettering society, it is equally important to acknowledge and safeguard civil and human rights. Access to the Internet should not be mistaken as an inherent right; rather, improvements must be made with a conscious awareness of ethical and legal responsibilities.
In practice
During a technology conference on digital rights, this quote can be used to emphasize the ethical responsibilities of tech developers.
One thing we know for sure is that the Web is a collaborative medium unlike any we've ever had before. We see people working together, playing together, interacting in social settings using these media. We hope that will emerge as the new tool for education.
I want more Internet. I want every one of the 6 billion people on the planet to be able to connect to the Internet - I think they will add things to it that will really benefit us all.
Allowing a handful of broadband carriers to determine what people see and do online would fundamentally undermine the features that have made the Internet such a success, and could permanently compromise the Internet as a platform for the free exchange of information, commerce, and ideas.
History is rife with examples of governments taking actions to 'protect' their citizens from harm by controlling access to information and inhibiting freedom of expression and other freedoms outlined in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We must make sure, collectively, that the Internet avoids a similar fate.
Given that my title at Google is Chief Internet Evangelist, I feel like there is this great challenge before me because we have three billion users, and there are seven billion people in the world.
You don't have to be young to learn about technology. You have to feel young.
Many of our own people here in this country do not ask about computers, telephones and television sets. They ask - when will we get a road to our village.
for Steve, less is always more, simpler is always better. Therefore, if you can build a glass box with fewer elements, it’s better, it’s simpler, and it’s at the forefront of technology. That’s where Steve likes to be, in both his products and his stores.
America tends to assume Silicon Valley-style innovators can drive quick and transformative changes, but even Silicon Valley's would-be masters of the universe have discovered that energy transitions are subject to time spans and technical constraints that defy their reach.
Think about technological float: it took centuries for the wheel to gain universal acceptance. Now any microchip device can be in use around the world in weeks.
Proprietary software tends to have malicious features. The point is with a proprietary program, when the users don't have the source code, we can never tell. So you must consider every proprietary program as potential malware.
The invisibility of work and workers in the digital age is as consequential as the rise of the assembly line and, later, the service economy.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.