Internet Zero

Neil Gershenfeld, director of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms and one of the creators of MIT's Fab Lab concept, co-authored an article in 2004 for Scientific American proposing an "Internet Zero" (or Internet 0 or I0), an IP-based protocol that could network everything, from keys to light bulbs, by giving each object a unique digital identity. I0 would be an open source protocol that would use "big bits" for optimum efficiency, and asynchronous transmissions that maximize the number of devices on a single channel. I0 would also be peer-to-peer, allowing two devices to communicate without the need of a third.

Recently, Gershenfeld appeared on C-SPAN's Digital Futures Series discussing I0. Will I0 be the next Internet buzz-phrase? How quickly will it catch on? Who will back it? And how soon will it generate a privacy backlash?

Source: Future Salon