Overview: The "Information Superhighway" provides easy access to a wealth of information. The backbone of this "Superhighway" is the Internet, a collection of independent networks and computer communities. Funded by government agencies, the development of many of these networks enables researchers to communicate and share data. These agencies, including those funding AI research, needed to share project information as it became available. Internet became the logical place to communicate and archive this immense AI knowledge-base.

A Brief History of the Internet: The use of computer networking expanded rapidly as computers became powerful enough to handle multiple users. As the price of equipment dropped, companies began setting up their own computer systems and networks. Even departments within companies had their own unique networks. These networks could not communicate with each other, however, as no standards existed and the networks were highly specialized. the US Department of Defense, interested in using these systems, needed a method for interconnecting networks. The military funded this net networking research through the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). Resolving the issues of standards and network communication became a major challenge for ARPA.

Internetworking, abbreviated Internet, was the fundamental approach developed by ARPA to interconnect networks. Researchers could communicate and share information using this early network. Arpanet, one of the first networks sponsored by ARPA, became the backbone that tied the researchers together. Internet software, such as Internet Protocol (IP) and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), were developed as part of this effort. Making the results available to the research public encouraged vendors to adopt Internet technology. This in turn encouraged vendors to support the concept of Open Systems -- where all technical specifications are available to the public. The National Science Foundation, recognizing the importance of Internet to science, began funding Internet and TCP/IP technology. They were very successful. In 1983 the Internet connected 562 computers; by the end of 1993, there were well over 1,200,000 computers connected. For more information, refer to:

• How the Internet Came to Be
• About the Internet

Glossary Link - Internet

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