Internet, a chance for the world ?
Centre Européen de Recherche et de Formation Avancée en Calcul Scientifique42, Avenue Gaspard Coriolis
31057 Toulouse Cedex
Tel : 05 61 19 31 31 - Fax : 05 61 19 30 00
INTERNET, A CHANCE FOR THE WORLD ?
David Menga
(Research Engineer, Direction Etudes et Recherches d'Electricité de France)
Friday February 20, 11.00 a.m. CERFACS Conference Room
Internet, Cyberspace, Globalization, End of history, everyone has heard about these concepts, but few know what they mean in terms of everyday life. Do we talk about a new continent with a new culture, a new economic model, new tools to enhance human relationships and support social development ?
Technology is the emerging part of the iceberg. Internet can't be reduced to a physical collection of routers, circuits and network protocols. Internet connects millions of users throughout the world. Internet is a global and multidimensional phenomenon that impacts many aspects of our life (the way we are informed, the way we learn, consume and create relationships with other people).
The goal of this presentation is to sketch a geography of this medium. We intend to cover:
a brief history of Internet
the social stakes (virtual school, cyberinformation)
the privacy issue (big brother syndrom)
the economic challenges (How is Internet changing the corporate world and consumption habits)
the political issues (Can Internet be declared as an independent entity ? Is regulation possible in this world ?)
Internet and less developed countries : a chance for the future ?
To conclude, we will discuss the new trends of Internet (advances in technology and new usages at home and in the society).
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