At the other end of the spectrum, the IFTF, led by Mike Leibhold, is also looking at what they call the “second-curve Internet.” The idea would be to take the existing physical infrastructure on the Internet and rebuild a newly decentralized network with it. “What’s really fun about Mike’s idea is that it doesn’t require tearing down the old one,” Cascio added. “It’s not I’ll go make my own Internet.” What kind of Internet could be built on the ossified skeleton of the one we’ve all grown up with? “It’s post-NSA and post-Comcast,” Cascio said. “Basically, the original model for the Internet was this peer-to-peer structure. Over the last decade, the Internet has evolved much more hub and spoke. Everything has to go through the major services. The idea with the second-curve Internet would push back into that other model. Peer-to-peer, mesh focused, and getting away from those central points of control and failure.”

The Not-So-Distant Future When We Can All Upgrade Our Brains – Alexis C. Madrigal – The Atlantic

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