by Tom Wheeler
47. “ITU Releases Annual Global ICT Data and ICT Development Index,” press release, International Telecommunications Union, November 30, 2015.
48. Lawrence Yanovitch, executive director, GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation, conversation with the author, February 2016.
49. World Bank, World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2016).
50. International Telecommunications Union, “The Digital Divide in 2015,” ICT Facts and Figures, May, 2015.
51. Adie Tomer and Joseph Kane, “Broadband Adoption Rates and Gaps in U.S. Metropolitan Areas,” Brookings Institution, December 7, 2015.
52. “Homework gap” was a term coined by my colleague Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.
53. “Living in poverty” is defined as meeting eligibility requirements for free or reduced-price school lunches. See Lyndsey Layton, “Majority of U.S. Public School Students Are in Poverty,” Washington Post, January 16, 2015.
54. Anton Troianovski, “The Web-Deprived Study at McDonald’s,” Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2013.
55. Kudos to Commissioner Mignon Clyburn for her tireless leadership and advocacy regarding the FCC’s Lifeline program for low-income Americans. Unfortunately, when the Trump FCC came into office, it immediately began scaling back this program.
56. One proposal was for the ViaSat 3, with a throughput of one terabit per second.
57. OneWeb proposed 700 satellites and SpaceX 4,000—all made possible by the reduced cost of construction and the huge savings in putting them into orbit, thanks to the commercial orbital lift industry. Whereas earlier-generation satellites could cost $200 million for a custom-crafted vehicle, current-generation satellites cost less than $1 million and roll off an assembly line like automobiles.
Chapter 9
1. Robert Gordon, The Rise and Fall of American Growth (Princeton University Press, 2016), p. 14.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., p. 7.
4. kdespagniqz, “Connected Cars Will Send 25 Gigabytes of Data to the Cloud Every Hour,” Quartz, February 13, 2015.
5. Patrick Nelson, “Just One Autonomous Car Will Use 4,000 GB of Data/Day,” Network World, December 7, 2016.
6. Credit for the push-to-pull concept belongs to my friend Bill Coleman, former CEO of Veritas.
7. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Water Audits and Water Loss Control for Public Water Systems,” July 2013.
8. John McCarthy, “Ascribing Mental Qualities to Machines,” Stanford University, 1979.
9. Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity Is Near (New York: Viking, 2006).
10. Field-programmable gate array (FPGA) microchips are the next processing iteration. While GPUs have their programming specifics built in, FPGAs, as the name suggests, are configured by a customer after manufacturing, thus increasing their flexibility and their potential applications.
11. Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne, “The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?,” January 2013. 10.1016/j.techfore.2016.08.019 (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271523899_The_Future_of_Employment_How_Susceptible_Are_Jobs_to_Computerisation).
12. Hearings before the Subcommittee on Employment and Manpower, U.S. Senate, part I, May 21, 22, 23, 1963, p. 321 (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100662611).
13. Tom Standage, “The Return of the Machinery Question,” The Economist, Special Report, June 25, 2016.
14. Ibid., p. 9.
15. Craig Giffi, “The Skills Gap in US Manufacturing: 2015 and Beyond,” Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute, 2011.
16. Ruchir Sharma, “Robots Won’t Kill the Workforce. They’ll Save the Global Economy,” Washington Post, December 2, 2016.
17. Vivek Wadhwa, “Why China Won’t Own Next-Generation Manufacturing,” Washington Post, August 26, 2016.
18. The “new occupations, not new jobs” theme was developed by my friend Susan Crawford of Harvard University. Conversation with the author, February 2017.
19. Giffi, “Skills Gap in US Manufacturing.”
20. Quentin Hardy, “Gearing Up for the Cloud, AT&T Tells Its Workers: Adapt or Else,” New York Times, February 13, 2016.
21. See McKinsey & Co., “How Blockchains Could Change the World,” May 2016.
22. Igal Zeifman, “2015 Bot Traffic Report: Humans Take Back the Web, Bots Not Giving Any Ground,” Incapsula.com, December 9, 2015.
23. Elias Groll, “Did Russia Knock Out Ukraine’s Power Grid?,” Foreign Policy, January 8, 2016.
24. Joseph Marks, “Indictment: Iranians Made ‘Coordinated’ Cyberattacks on U.S. Banks, Dam,” Politico, March 24, 2016.
25. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, “Rusian Cyber-Criminal Convicted of 38 Counts Related to Hacking Businesses and Stealing More Than Two Million Credit Card Numbers,” August 25, 2016.
26. Josh Rogin, “NSA Chief: Cybercrime Constitutes the ‘Greatest Transfer of Wealth in History,’ ” Foreign Policy, July 19, 2012.
27. “Former Cardinal Exec Sentenced to Jail for Hacking Astros,” Sports Illustrated, July 18, 2016.
28. Anthony Spadafora, “The Average IoT Device Is Compromised after Being Online for 6 Minutes,” ITPortal.com, October 18, 2016.
29. “Morning Cybersecurity,” Politico, November 11, 2016.
30. To move beyond cyber catchup, I fought for a stipulation in the spectrum grants for fifth-generation wireless (5G) to require that cybersecurity be designed into the technology from the outset. The industry and its allies opposed it as overly burdensome. Nevertheless, it became the law. Unfortunately, it was subsequently repealed by the Trump FCC in a sad indication of the commitment level of both industry and government to address cybersecurity.
31. David Ignatius, “The Cold War Is Over: The Cyber War Has Begun,” Washington Post, September 15, 2016.
Index
Aachen relics, 35
Abacus, 121–23
ABC (Atanasoff-Berry Computer), 121, 127–28
Adams, John Quincy, 58–59, 89–90
Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA), 6, 150
Advertising, 223
Aelius Donatus, 40
Affordable Care Act, 198–99
Agriculture, 59–60, 61, 82–83
Airbnb, 195
Alexander, Keith, 239
Algorithms, 2, 213–15, 227, 234–35
Allen, Paul, 134
Alphabet, Inc., 187
Altair, 133, 134
Amazon, 17, 18
American Association for the Advancement of Science, 127
American Mathematical Society, 137
American Speaking Telephone Company, 142
American Telephone & Telegraph (AT&T), 144–47, 160–64
Ameritech, 163
Analytical engine, 85–86, 118, 122–24, 226
Answering machines, 147
API (application programming interface), 214
Appalachian Mountains, 55, 57
Apple Computer, 134
Arab Spring (2010–11), 205
ARPA (Advanced Research Project Agency), 6, 150
ARPANET, 6, 150–51
Ars grammatica (Aelius Donatus), 40
Artificial intelligence, 193, 221, 226–32
Artificial neural networks, 228
Associated Press, 1, 15, 109
Atanasoff, John, 119–20, 121, 127–29, 134
Atanasoff-Berry Computer (ABC), 121, 127–28
AT&T (American Telephone & Telegraph), 144–47, 160–64
Authority structures: and mobile phone networks, 173–76; and printing press, 47–49, 50; and railroads, 78–81
Automated teller machines (ATMs), 230, 231
Autonomous vehicles, 224
Autopilot systems, 228
Babbage, Charles, 20, 84–86, 118, 121–27, 134, 159, 219, 226
Baillet, Adrien, 48
Baltimore: as port city, 58–59; railroads in, 55–56, 59; telegraph in, 100–101, 103–05, 107
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, 55–56, 59, 69–70, 73–74, 83, 100
Bangladesh, mobile phone use in, 165
Banking industry, 230, 231, 232–33
Baran, Paul, 12–13, 16, 148–49, 152, 155, 221
Bell, Alexander Graham, 6, 114–17, 139–40, 142–44, 154
Bell Labs, 130–31, 138, 146–47, 161–62
Bell Telephone Company, 141–45, 149, 154, 160–61
Bennett, James Gordon, 108
Berners-Lee, Tim, 152, 222, 223
Berry, Clifford, 121
Bezos, Jeff, 18
Bible, 32, 41–42, 50, 103
Big Data, 7, 187–88, 189, 202
Binary signaling: and computer development, 120, 126; and computer networking, 3, 138–41; and telegraph, 113, 115, 116, 167
Bitcoin, 233–34, 235
Blank, Julius, 131
Blockchain, 233–37
Boeing, 188, 225, 228
Bookkeeping, 45, 232
Boolean algebra, 126
Border Gateway Protocol, 152
Boston: as port city, 57–58; and railroads, 76; Telegraph Hills in, 93; telephone service in, 143
Botnets, 238
Bottlenecks, 109–10, 193, 210
Brandeis, Louis, 190
Broadband internet, access to, 217
Buffalo, commodity exchange in, 109
Burroughs, William S., 124
Burroughs Corporation, 129
Busicom, 132
Cable News Network (CNN), 175, 209–10
Calculators, 123–24
Calhoun, John C., 110
Carnegie Steel, 17
Carroll, Charles, 59, 83
Cass, Lewis, 104
Catholic Church, 18, 28, 30, 35, 47–48
CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), 2
Cell phones. See Mobile phone systems
Cellular networks, 162–64, 174
Censorship, 47
Census, 46, 74, 111, 124–25, 128
Centennial Exposition (Philadelphia, 1876), 140
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2
Centralized management, 17, 19, 23, 50, 182, 194–95, 214
Centralized networks, 7, 11–12, 16–17, 155, 205, 207, 221
Central Pacific Railroad, 81
Central processing unit (CPU), 123, 126
Cerf, Vinton, 151
Chappe, Claude, 93
Charlemagne, 35
Charleston: as port city, 58; railroads in, 70; telegraph in, 22
Charleston and Hamburg Railroad, 70
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, 58–59
Chicago: commodity exchange in, 109; mail-order businesses in, 77; mobile phone network in, 163; railroads in, 19, 60, 61–63, 80, 82, 182–83
China, paper production and printing in, 33
Circuits, integrated, 131–32, 135
Citizen engagement, 203–09
Civil War, 112, 191
Clapper, James, 240
Clay, Henry, 103
Clickbait, 214
Clinton, DeWitt, 57, 58
CNN (Cable News Network), 175, 209–10
Coal mines, 63–64, 72
Coded messages, 191
Cohen, Isaac, 98
Columbus, Christopher, 46
Columbus, Ohio, railroads in, 61, 76
Commerce. See Trade and commerce
Commodity exchanges, 109
Community, 7, 144, 168–70, 203–05
Complex Number Computer, 137–38
CompuServe, 150
Computers, 119–77; and artificial intelligence, 193, 221, 226–32; and Babbage, 84–85; and cyberattacks, 237–40; development of, 119–35; and education, 200–201; and internet of things (IoT), 186, 191; and mobile phone networks, 157–77; networking of, 6, 12, 137–56; and productivity, 224
Confrérie des Libraries, Relieurs, Elumineurs, Escrivans et Parcheminiers (France), 42
Congress: and railroads, 77, 83, 99–102, 105–06, 110, 113; and telegraph development, 96–100
Connelly, Michael, 185–86
Cooke, William, 93–94, 97, 102
Cooper, Peter, 69, 111
Cordray, Richard, 227
Cornell, Ezra, 100–101, 102
Coworker.org, 199
CPU (central processing unit), 123, 126
Credit cards, 232–33, 234–35
Cumberland, Maryland, railroads in, 55, 59
Cyberattacks, 155–56, 237–39
Daguerre, Louis, 97
Daily Show, 210
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency), 6, 151
Darwin, Charles, 16
Data mining, 188–89
DCA (Defense Communications Agency), 149
Decentralized management, 156, 195
Decentralized networks, 12, 17, 156, 205, 208, 234
Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA), 6, 151
Defense Communications Agency (DCA), 149
Defense Department, 6, 148, 150, 151
Detroit: mobile communications in, 160; railroads in, 61
Difference engine, 85, 121–22
Digital dividend and divide, 215–18
Digital Single Market (DSM), 205
Disaggregation-reassembly cycle: printing press, 32–40, 50; railroads, 63–68; telegraph, 92–96
Distance: and printing press, 45, 52; and railroads, 57–63, 76, 78, 82; and telegraph, 93–95, 105, 117; and telephone service, 153
Distributed ledger technology, 234, 236
Distributed networks: and autonomous vehicles, 224; development of, 12; and economic activity, 182, 184, 195; Facebook’s use of, 17, 184; fishnet structure, 153; and telephone networks, 156; and trust, 232–37
Double-entry bookkeeping, 45, 232
Douglas, Stephen A., 62
DSM (Digital Single Market), 205
Dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), 132–33
Eastman, George, 190
Eckert, J. Presper, 128–30
Economic growth: and education, 200; and knowledge workers, 196–98; and mobile phone service, 172; network effects on, 15, 21, 187, 200, 202, 207; and privacy rights, 191; and productivity, 222–23, 230; and telegraph, 109–10; and telephone service, 145
Edison, Thomas, 139, 142, 146
Edna Brewer Middle School (Oakland, California), 202
Education, 75, 196, 199–203
EDVAC (Electronic Discrete Variable Arithmetic Computer), 128–29
Egypt: Arab Spring protests in, 208; postal network in, 49
“E-lancers,” 195
Electricity: and computer development, 120; cyberattacks against power grid, 239; infrastructure for, 216; and mobile phone service, 157–59; and telegraph development, 90, 92–93, 95–96; and telephone development, 143
Electronic Discrete Variable Arithmetic Computer (EDVAC), 128–29
Ellsworth, Anne, 103
Ellsworth, Henry, 101–02
Eminent domain, 75
Employment. See Jobs
ENIAC, 128, 130
E-readers, 18
Erie Canal, 57–59, 70–71, 174
Erie Railroad, 74
Estonia, citizen engagement in, 206
Europe: mobile phone service in, 163; and Peace of Westphalia, 204; printing press, effect in, 2, 14–15, 28–33, 42–47; privacy rights in, 191; railroad development in, 63, 69; telegraph development in, 93, 97. See also specific countries
Ewbank, Thomas, 113
Facebook: advertising on, 213; data collection and use by, 189, 193, 236; development of, 154; and distributed network, 17, 184; as news source, 211; offices of, 181; and productivity, 223
Fairchild Semiconductor, 131
FDA (Food and Drug Administration), 175
Federal Communications Commission (FCC): and internet access, 185, 203, 217–18; and mobile phone service, 161–64, 167, 174; on privacy rights, 193; and regulatory framework, 207
Feeder lines, 61
Ferris, Charles, 98
Fe
ssenden, Reginald, 160
Financial markets, 62, 109
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 175
4G and 5G wireless technologies, 167, 218
Freelancers Union, 199
Freight transport, 57, 59, 79–80, 155
Frelinghuysen, Theodore, 103
Fust, Johannes, 41–42, 107
Gale, Leonard, 95
Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, 60, 61
Gardner, John, 182
Gates, Bill, 134
Germany: Luther’s writings distributed in, 28, 31–32; printing press development in, 34–40
Gesner, Conrad, 48
Ghonim, Wael, 208, 214
Glass insulators, 102
Google, 2, 17, 214, 226, 238
Gordon, Robert, 222, 223
Gould, Jay, 139, 142, 146
The Grange (National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry), 82–83
Graphic processing units (GPUs), 229
Gray, Stephen, 92
Great Railroad Strike (1877), 83
Great Western Railway (Britain), 94, 97
Green Revolution (Iran), 205
Grinich, Victor, 131
Gutenberg, Johannes, 2, 13–14, 18, 34–53, 64, 118, 195, 219. See also Printing press
Gutenberg Bible, 41–42
Hamilton, Alexander, 208
Henry, Joseph, 92, 94–96, 126, 140
Hertz, Heinrich, 159
Hickman, Clarence, 147
Hoerni, Jean, 131
Hoff, Marcian “Ted,” 132, 133
Hollerith, Herman, 124–25
Hone, Philip, 71
Honeywell, Inc., 129
Hubbard, Gardiner G., 139, 141
Hubbard, Mabel, 139
Hudson River, 57
Hypertext markup language (HTML), 152
Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), 152
IBM, 125, 134, 227
IDC, 187
Ignatius, David, 240
India, mobile phone use in, 165
Indianapolis, railroads in, 61
Indulgences, 30–31
Industrial production, 72, 74, 184, 188. See also Productivity growth
Industrial Revolution, 21, 60, 72–73, 123, 190, 196, 229
Information: as capital asset, 185–89; delivery of, 3, 108; and education, 199–203; flow of, 13, 21, 43, 51, 212–13; and horizontalizing work, 194–99; networks, 14, 27; orchestrating intelligence, 223–26; perishable, 108; and privacy, 190–94; time value of, 108–11; transportation of, 224; velocity of, 51
