Researched
The Internet
ARPANET links the first computers in 1969; with TCP/IP (1983) it grows into the worldwide network of networks.
Open in the interactive tree →Packet switching (Baran, Davies) splits messages into small packets that find their own way. The first ARPANET message went from UCLA to SRI on 29 October 1969. On 1 January 1983 ARPANET switched to TCP/IP, designed by Cerf and Kahn; open standards let arbitrary networks grow together. In 2025 about three quarters of humanity is online according to the ITU, with 2.2 billion still offline.
Prerequisites
- Telephone1876
- Programmable Computer1941
- Information Theory1948
- Packet Switching1965ARPANET was built on packet switching
Unlocks
- E-mail1971
- Ethernet and local networks1973
- TCP/IP1974
- Open Source & Linux1991
- World Wide Web1991
- arXiv Preprint Server1991
- Platform Economy1995-2009
- Social Media & Algorithmic Feeds2004-2012
- Bitcoin & Blockchain2008
- Deep Learning2012
- Robots & Lights-Out Factories2015–2026
- Data Protection (GDPR)2018
- Open Access & Open Science2018-2026
- Satellite Internet (Starlink)2019
- Satellite mega-constellations2019
- Large Language Models2022
- Digital Euro2026
- Digital Identity & Trustopen
- Quantum Internetopen
- Robust Cybersecurityopen