Dreaming in Digital

Debating Zittrain’s “The Future of the Internet” 06/20/2011

Jonathan Zittrain’s crystal ball does not paint a pretty picture. In The Future of the Internet: And How to Stop It, the author and professor of law at Harvard Law School explores a world ripe with possibilities yet riddled with controversy. Where the Internet succeeded in changing the way we communicate, Zittrain says it no longer functions as originally intended. It’s far too easily taken advantage of, he says, and the risks are beginning to outweigh the rewards. The “future” he is trying to stop is not merely one of open source ideals and generative technology, but of regulation, legislation and reform. “The solution,” he says, “is not to conscript intermediaries to become the Net police,” (Zittrain, p. 195). But what is the solution? Zittrain, who co-founded the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, does not fully explore possible solutions in The Future of the Internet. Instead, he wrestles with the possibility of a closed-network society that willingly sacrifices the freedom to innovate for security and peace of mind.

Though the generative qualities of the Internet initially gave way to stunning insight and earth-shaking innovation, it also spawned viruses, spam, hackers and worse. According to Zittrain, the government and/or corporate intermediaries—both of which loosely regulate the Internet nowadays—will move to strengthen the Net’s regulability and, thus, wield more control over it. This, he says, will destroy the generative Net as we know it. An “appliancized network” is a term Zittrain uses to describe technologies or networks that discourage or disallow tinkering. Generative technology, on the other hand, invites or allows modification. The latter, Zittrain says, is what makes the Internet function. He believes in the Net’s openness and feels we can preserve its generativity if we simply act fast.

To solve the problem, Zittrain proposes a “latter-day Manhattan Project, not to build a bomb but to design the tools and conventions by which to continuously diffuse one,” (Zittrain, p. 173). Essentially, he wants to make subtle changes to the Net’s so-called operating agreement and hold those accountable who would use it for ill intent. But it may be too late, as Zittrain himself points out at various points throughout the book. “Any comprehensive redesign of the Internet at this late stage,” he says, “would draw the attention of regulators and other parties who will push for ways to prevent abuse before it can even happen,” (Zittrain, p. 245). If governments and corporations enact legislation to preemptively stop bad things from happening, it will lead to a closed network and less innovation on the part of end users. This is not the future Zittrain wants to see.

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