A Billion More People Are About to Transform the Internet | The Future With Hannah Fry

Connecting the Next Billion

• The Nairobi neighborhood of Pipeline is a densely packed area with limited access to public schools, running water, and rubbish collection, but it has stalls selling brand-new smartphones, thanks to local residents and new technology, allowing more people to get online (23s).
• The internet has altered life beyond recognition for its 5.4 billion current users, democratizing information and producing staggering fortunes, but also emboldening some of the worst aspects of humanity, and in 5 years, another billion people will be online (48s).
• Professor Hannah Fry, a mathematician and writer, wants to know how the internet revolution will unfold for the next billion online and whether it's big tech or users who have the most to gain (1m22s).
• The internet began with a well-intentioned vision by Tim Berners-Lee in the late 1980s, who wanted it to be an open platform for sharing information and collaborating across geographic and cultural boundaries (1m56s).

Bridging the Digital Divide

• Despite this vision, there are still three billion people on Earth who are not online, and internet giants see these people as a vast untapped resource, with the challenge being getting them connected (2m17s).
• The web and internet are different things, with the web being the collection of pages on your screen and the internet being the physical infrastructure of cables and networks that link machines together (2m53s).
• No one company or government owns the internet, but someone has to pay to create connections, and building the last mile of connections in remote locations needs creative solutions (3m20s).
• Google's research arm, X, has spent years trying to build a global network of stratospheric internet-beaming balloons, but has since scrapped the project and brought their ideas back down to Earth (4m2s).
• Google is now working on a technology that uses beams of light to transfer high-speed internet data, with the goal of bringing high-speed internet to the farthest-flung corners of the Earth (4m29s).
• The technology uses a simple power terminal to transfer data from fiber optic cables into light energy and transmit it wirelessly, allowing for high-speed internet without the need for laying fiber (4m51s).
• A new technology is being developed to provide internet access using narrow, invisible beams of light, demonstrated with a laser pointer, which can be used to communicate between cell towers and terminals (5m26s).
• The technology uses mirrors to constantly fine-tune their aim and stay on target, even when the cell towers move due to wind and temperature changes (6m0s).
• The beams can be used to transmit internet over huge distances, typically between 10 to 20 km, and can deliver speeds of tens of thousands of megabits per second with low latency and at an affordable price (6m43s).
• This technology is one of Google's moonshots, and the company has invested heavily in it, with the goal of bringing the world online and making a profit while doing so (7m16s).

Google's Moonshot: Project Taara

• According to Mahesh's boss, Astro Teller, Google's goal is to exist at the intersection of purpose and profit, and to make the world a better place while also making a profit (7m38s).
• The technology has already been used by entrepreneurs, such as Elias Mugo, who borrowed cash to hook up to one of Google's Tara connections and started selling internet access to his neighbors (8m39s).
• Elias Mugo's business model involves splitting his internet connection and selling it to multiple customers, who pay him for access, allowing him to make a profit (9m11s).
• In Kenya, a local resident named Elias has become an official internet reseller, providing internet access to his community at a low price, earning around 10,000 Kenyan Shillings ($75 US) as a healthy additional income (9m26s).
• The internet has transformed the community, providing a source of business, access to information, and access to education, with some residents even taking online classes (10m16s).
• Google discovered the potential of local enterprises like Elias' when the number of connections in the area vastly outstripped contract sales, and instead of cracking down, they realized local residents were better placed to connect people (9m51s).
• The internet has brought business opportunities not just for people in Silicon Valley, but also for people in rural areas, with the potential to have a genuine impact on people's lives (11m29s).

Empowering Local Communities

• However, the opportunities brought by the internet are not guaranteed to benefit everyone in Kenya, with 70% of the population living in remote areas where internet access is limited (12m13s).
• Dr. Judy Mcka and Dr. Unice Aino are working to support local people in rural areas, providing training and basic skills to help them get online and access the benefits of the internet (12m36s).
• The Center for Women's Empowerment in Technology was founded in 2017 to ensure that youth, particularly girls, don't miss out on the potential benefits of internet access, offering programs in digital skills, word processing, and internet access (13m33s).
• The goal is to bring the global marketplace to these kids and invite them to actively participate, rather than just browsing the internet (14m4s).
• In Kenya, many people are now earning jobs online, such as content writing and transcription, which has exposed them to new opportunities and given them confidence and authority. (14m10s)

Kenya's Digital Leap

• The Kenyan government has recognized the potential of technology and is investing heavily in its digital sector, including building a new tech hub, making it an attractive place for global companies to outsource online jobs. (15m25s)

The Dark Side of the Web: Content Moderation

• Moes oang, a content moderator, describes his job as watching hours of disturbing videos every day to protect others, which he found traumatic and led to PTSD and insomnia, despite being paid only $200 a month. (15m59s)
• Content moderators are considered the "first responders" of the internet, but they often lack appropriate psychological support and are paid minimal wages, raising accusations of digital colonialism. (17m16s)
• Moes oang and other moderators are pushing for better pay, conditions, and recognition, and are forming a union to negotiate with multinational companies and outsourcing farms. (18m15s)
• The African content moderators union is advocating for the importance of their work in maintaining usable online spaces and seeking fair treatment for their labor. (18m35s)

African Innovation: Adenan Labs

• The internet's expansion across the world will create jobs in the digital sector, but the biggest profits will likely be amassed by giant tech companies unless local companies can enter the market (19m33s).
• A team of tech experts in Nairobi aims to build solutions for the local market and create African wealth by investing in a new generation of tech talent and innovation (19m52s).
• Irene Kia is one of the founders of Adenan Labs, a company that has trained a large number of data scientists in Eastern and Central Africa and built solutions for various sectors, including healthcare, finance, and agriculture (20m13s).
• Adenan Labs has developed a flagship product called AIA Record, a platform that allows patients to store, manage, and access their health information, which is currently being used by around 150 hospitals across Africa and 350,000 patients (21m7s).
• The platform is built on blockchain technology, making it a secure and scalable solution that is being expanded to Europe and the US (21m45s).
• The team at Adenan Labs is solving local problems while targeting a global market, and they see Africa's relatively slow adoption of digital technology as a massive opportunity for growth and innovation (21m56s).
• The company's vision is to create wealth and prepare African youth to support the continent and the world through technology (22m24s).

The Future of the Internet in Africa

• The expansion of big tech companies into Sub-Saharan Africa raises concerns about exploitation, but it also presents opportunities for local entrepreneurs and companies to develop and grow (22m44s).
• Having the internet in Africa is not just about inviting the rest of the world in, but about sparking and accelerating local solutions, growth, and companies that can affect the rest of the world (23m10s).
• Tim Berners-Lee is credited with a quote about the true nature of the Internet, which is that it's not about connecting machines, but rather about connecting people (23m26s).
• The addition of another billion people to the online community will have a profound impact, affecting not just the new users, but the existing online population as well (23m34s).