People-Centered Internet Announces The 50th Anniversary of the Internet Celebration with Founding Luminaries and Tech Leaders

PALO ALTO, CA – May 16, 2024 — The People-Centered Internet (PCI), a nonprofit dedicated to creating a more people-centered, equitable digital world, in collaboration with the IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, will host a celebration in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Internet on May 19 – 20 to be livestreamed globally.

The May 19 event, “IEEE i50: A Virtual Celebration of 50 Years of the Internet,” brings together founding figures who architected the Internet, alongside those supporting its responsible growth today. Speakers on May 19 (viewable via the livestream link below) include:

• Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn, co-authors of the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) (12:10 pm PT)
• Sally Wentworth, Managing Director, Internet Society (12:35 pm PT)
• Amandeep Singh Gill, UnderSecretary General, United Nations  Tech Envoy (12:44 pm PT) 
• Pramod Varma, architect of Digital India (12:50 pm PT)
• Sanjay Jain, Digital Public Infrastructure, Gates Foundation (12:50 pm PT)
• The Honorable Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece (1:20 pm PT)
• Keith Strier, VP of Worldwide AI for NVIDIA (1:55 pm PT)
• Fei Fei Li, Co-Director, Stanford’s Institute for Human Centered AI (1:55 pm PT)
• Bob Metcalfe, creator of the Ethernet (3:05 pm PT)

The date of the event marks 50 years since Messrs. Cerf and Kahn published “A protocol for packet network interconnection” in IEEE Transactions on Communication Technology. The article proposed the design for TCP, structuring and governing how information is shared between networks — “Internetting,” as noted in the publication — and, when merged with the network-layer Internet Protocol (IP), would become the backbone for the data transfers that power the Internet, known as TCP/IP.

“When we developed TCP, we had no idea how impactful it would be,” said Mr. Cerf, co-founder of PCI, Vice President at Google, and an IEEE Life Fellow. “It has been amazing to see how this project grew into the infrastructure for technological innovation that it is today.”

Added Jascha Stein, Executive Chair of PCI and co-founder of the Conversational-AI-for-Impact platforms OmniBot.ai and Particip.ai, “This event celebrates the innovative leaps in technology that forever changed how we operate professionally and interact personally. As we explore the promise that new technologies such as AI offers, it is up to us to ensure that we apply these tools effectively to shape a people-centered world.”

The May 19 live stream begins at 3:00 pm ET / 12:00 pm PT and can be accessed at https://engage.ieee.org/celebrate-i50. The livestream of the hybrid event on May 20 in Mountain View, CA, recognizing the impact of TCP, IEEE 802 Standards Committee, and the PageRank algorithm, begins at 4:00 pm ET / 1:00 pm PT, accessible at https://ieeetv.ieee.org/live-events/milestone-tcp-802-Google.

ABOUT PEOPLE-CENTERED INTERNET

People-Centered Internet (PCI) is a leading nonprofit based in Palo Alto, dedicated to creating a more equitable people-centered digital world. We unite global experts to develop inclusive, efficient digital strategies that enhance community resilience and prosperity. Our initiatives promote innovative digital tools, empowering communities worldwide to thrive in a connected era. Founded by Vint Cerf and Mei Lin Fung, and currently chaired by Jascha Stein and Mei Lin Fung, PCI works on transformative efforts for a people-centered Internet. For more information, please visit https://peoplecentered.net/.