Robert Calderbank is the Charles S. Sydnor Professor at Duke University. He grew up in the northwest of England, starting his technical career at Bell Labs after attending graduate school at Caltech. At the dawn of the Internet, he created technology that enabled more than a billion voiceband modems to communicate at rates approaching the Shannon limit. At the dawn of the wireless Internet, when voice gave way to data, he helped develop multiple antenna technology that met rising demand for high data rates. At the start of the quantum revolution, he helped develop the mathematical foundation for quantum error correction. Dr. Calderbank moved from Lucent to AT&T in 1995 where he later became VP, AT&T Labs Research. At AT&T he helped develop the first research lab in the world focused on communications data at very high scale. He moved to Princeton University in 2003 then to Duke in 2010. Since moving to academia, Dr. Calderbank has been involved with pioneering wireless startups, first Flarion Technologies and most recently Cohere Technologies. At Duke University he created the Rhodes Information Initiative (iiD) and launched the +Programs, where project focused team experiences reach hundreds of undergraduates every year. Dr. Calderbank was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2005, to the National Academy of Inventors in 2015, and to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2022. He has received several awards, including the 2013 IEEE Hamming Medal for contributions to information transmission, and the 2015 Claude E. Shannon Award.

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But just as the Romans couldn’t have envisioned our interconnected digital age, we now stand at the brink of a transformation equally difficult to fathom. The digital world is maturing—moving from adolescence to adulthood—where systems are not just tools but dynamic collaborators. This shift isn’t merely about expanding technology but reimagining it as a conscious, adaptable force that harmonizes with the physical world and addresses humanity’s most pressing challenges.

The Era of Digital Citizens

Let’s extend this imagination further. What if the “citizens” of this new world weren’t just humans? What if our devices—phones, cars, wearables—stopped being passive tools and became active collaborators in our lives?

Imagine a future where your smartwatch doesn’t just track your heartbeat but collaborates with your refrigerator to suggest meals aligned with your health goals, mood, and schedule. Picture your car not just as a vehicle but as a learning companion, adapting to your habits and ensuring safer, more efficient journeys.

These are the new digital citizens—intelligent entities that learn, adapt, and collaborate autonomously. They don’t merely perform functions; they contribute to a world where technology feels like an extension of ourselves. But to make this vision a reality, we must rethink our infrastructure—building a foundation that transcends centralized systems and siloed apps.

Building the Future: Beyond Patches and Silos

Innovation for the digital era cannot be constrained by legacy frameworks. The idea of patching siloed apps, containerizing them, and force-fitting them together through orchestrations is no longer sufficient. The systems of tomorrow demand a fresh approach—one that empowers devices to mimic human adaptability, social collaboration, dynamically evolve roles, and processing data where it’s most effective.

This is not about “thinking outside the box”; it’s about designing an entirely new box. One where workflows are not orchestrated but choreographed—dynamic, context-aware, and adaptive. It’s a paradigm shift where workflows originate at the edge, where data is created, and flow seamlessly across interconnected systems.

Data as the New Currency

In this new paradigm, data is no longer a byproduct to be harvested by centralized entities—it becomes a currency of empowerment. Individuals become active participants in the economy, receiving tangible value for their contributions.

Imagine a world where your data fuels intelligent collaborations that directly benefit you. Personal AI agents, equipped with contextual intelligence, act on your behalf, discovering opportunities, negotiating value exchanges, and transforming your skills, expertise, and data into economic assets.

In healthcare, for example, your health data doesn’t sit idle in a database. Instead, it powers collaborations between devices, providers, and researchers, offering personalized treatments while compensating you for contributing to collective insights. Similarly, in education, your learning progress fuels an ecosystem of personalized content while allowing you to benefit from sharing your knowledge.

This vision ensures fair recognition and reward for contributions—skills, data, or expertise—creating a digital economy driven by collaboration rather than monopolized by a few large entities.

The Butterfly Effect of Agentic Collaboration

Imagine a simple prompt entering a network of AI agents—a request for an outcome. It sparks a ripple effect through a system where each agent represents a unique skillset, dataset, or capability. These agents autonomously can discover, collaborate, and deliver the desired outcome, compensating contributors along the way.

This is the butterfly effect of the agentic economy: a small change, like embedding workloads into smart devices, unleashes transformative ripples across the digital reteam driving an outcome in the physical world. It reshapes how we interact, collaborate, and create value, unlocking opportunities that span industries and geographies.

This future is not limited by fragmented workflows or siloed systems. It’s a world where intelligent agents collaborate dynamically, seamlessly integrating into every facet of life.

The Fifth Element of AI: Contextual Intelligence in Motion

At the heart of this transformation lies a crucial realization: intelligence cannot remain monolithic—rigid, static, and isolated. Just as human diversity—our languages, cultures, and ways of thinking—has fueled centuries of innovation, the same principle applies to artificial intelligence. Devices empowered by AI must evolve beyond single-purpose functions to become adaptive, collaborative, and context-aware.

AI systems are built on four foundational elements:

• Sensing (Perception): Gathering data from the environment.
• Processing (Computation): Analyzing and making decisions based on data.
• Actuation (Action): Responding to inputs by performing tasks.
• Interaction: Communicating with other systems, environments, or users.

But what makes human society extraordinary isn’t just our ability to sense, think, act, and interact—it’s our capacity for dynamic collaboration. This is the fifth element: choreography.

Choreography is not about rigid, pre-defined orchestration. It reflects how humans adapt and collaborate in response to changing circumstances, transforming isolated systems into harmonious collectives.

Hybrid Edge AI brings this vision to life. It decentralizes intelligence, embedding it into physical spaces and smart devices. This approach enables situationally aware, energy-efficient, and privacy-preserving systems that dynamically adapt to their context.

Imagine the Possibilities

• A fleet of drones works as a collective during a rescue mission, sharing real-time information about weather, terrain, and obstacles. They dynamically adapt their roles and coordinate to ensure the mission’s success—whether by locating survivors, delivering supplies, or mapping safe escape routes.
• Smart robots and human workers collaborate seamlessly on factory floors, with robots sharing operational insights to optimize production. Together, they adjust workflows in response to supply chain disruptions, equipment malfunctions, or changing demands—all in real time.
• Personal AI agents on interconnected devices exchange data securely to provide comprehensive, context-aware health recommendations. They maintain privacy while tailoring advice based on a user’s medical history, environment, and even feedback from wearable sensors.
• Autonomous vehicles in a busy city act as a network, continuously sharing traffic, weather, and road condition data. This collaboration reduces congestion, enhances safety, and ensures passengers reach their destinations efficiently.
• Edge-based AI in retail environments connects smart shelves, point-of-sale systems, and mobile devices to deliver a truly personalized shopping experience. By collaborating, these devices dynamically adjust inventory, pricing, and promotions to align with local trends and customer preferences.

The Road Ahead

We stand at a pivotal moment. The agentic economy—driven by collaborative, context-aware systems—is not just a technological shift; it is a socio-economic revolution that could reshape industries and unlock trillions of dollars in value.

To realize this potential, we must act decisively. We must prioritize systems that are resilient, collaborative, and adaptive—valuing meaningful contributions from all participants, human or digital. These systems must uphold principles of efficiency, privacy, security, and transparency, empowering individuals and enterprises alike.

The digital and physical worlds are converging at an unprecedented pace, bringing both immense promise and significant risks. The choices we make today will determine whether this convergence leads to greater prosperity and human flourishing—or exacerbates existing divides.

This is our call to action: let us channel our knowledge, creativity, and resources into building a digital ecosystem that enhances humanity, protects our freedoms, and creates a legacy we can be proud of for generations. The future of mankind depends on it.

Additional Resources:

Exposing the World of Data Brokers: A Serious Threat to Global Prosperity

The Threat of Disinformation: A Grave Danger to Democratic Societies

Customer Analytics or Data Robbery

Embracing hybrid edge AI for a continuum of contextual intelligence

Comparative Cost-Benefit Analysis of Digital Twins 

What is mimik AI

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What do you think the most important information and communications technologies will be in five years and why?

William Webb, Board Member

My view is that we are unlikely to see any significant new ICT technologies in the next five years. It generally takes much longer – 10 years or more for new concepts to emerge and prove their value. And it is hard to single out one technology. We have a complex ICT system that builds on the Internet and uses fiber, mobile, Wi-Fi and many other technologies to keep us connected via phones, laptops, and other devices. Cloud storage and search allow us to find what we want. If I had to pick one of these I’d say the Internet. Without it, modern life would be unthinkable and most of our devices would barely work. Of course, the Internet is not new, and hardly changes now, other than adding more capacity. That, in a way, is a testament to how well it does its task.

Vicente San Miguel, Board Member

Intelligent machines, either physical or virtual, will be broadly available in the same way that Ford T did in the past with our cities. They will create intensive ethical, economic, and future job debates. Virtual reality interaction will also change the way we work and entertain in this period. These technologies will pose significant challenges to Networks and Data Centers, which will require more Fiber and 5G deployments to cope with the connectivity demand. Getting these capabilities closer to the customers, either silicon or carbon, will also require new communications capacities to be deployed.

Legacy of Guglielmo Marconi

Arogyaswami Paulraj, 2014 Marconi Fellow and Board Member

Guglielmo Marconi was not only a visionary inventor and engineer but, more importantly, went on to commercialize his wireless technology. His entrepreneurial spirit and the establishment of the Marconi Company played a pivotal role in the widespread adoption of wireless technology. I tend to see the latter as his greatest contribution because it was the key to making the benefits of wireless technology widely available.

Marconi’s work did not stop at long-distance point-to-point wireless telegraphy. He also played a crucial role in the development of radio broadcasting, ushering in a new era of radio broadcasting and paving the way for mass market music, news, and entertainment through the airwaves.

The significance of Marconi’s contributions to wireless communication cannot be overstated. His work brought people closer together, transcending geographical boundaries and revolutionizing global telecommunications.

Andrew Viterbi, 1990 Marconi Fellow

During the last half of the nineteenth century a British mathematician, James Clerk Maxwell, and a German physicist, Heinrich Hertz, theoretically predicted and experimentally proved the phenomenon of electromagnetic wave propagation, which is known today as wireless. But it was the Italian visionary amateur scientist, Guglielmo Marconi, who foresaw and demonstrated the practical use of this phenomenon which by the beginning of the twenty-first century has connected together virtually all the residents of Earth as well as a few travelers of Space.

The history of this remarkable technological evolution, and at times revolution, fills countless scholarly journals, books, and patents. Over the century and a quarter, since Marconi demonstrated the practical employment of electromagnetic waves to transmit telegraph messages over great distances, millions of engineers and scientists have toiled to build the conglomeration of devices, systems, and networks that constitute modern wireless communication. One of our Marconi Society Fellows, the late Paul Baran, suggested a comic caricature of the process: “Each of many workers brought a single brick to add to the framework of the structure as a small contribution to building the edifice.”

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The Early Days

Federico opened the conversation by taking us back to the early days when groundbreaking inventions like the 4004 microprocessor he developed and Vint Cerf’s TCP/IP protocol were conceived. The rapid advancement of microprocessor technology impacts various applications, from calculators to control systems. The work to shrink transistors and double processing power over decades has led to the current era of trillion-transistor chips.

Vint recounted how the original purpose of creating a communication system for the Defense Department eventually evolved into a commercial and global phenomenon. He stated, “In 1983… there might have been 400 computers on the system.  Today, there are billions of machines on the network…” The rapid proliferation of search engines and the monumental impact of smartphones has brought unprecedented levels of connectivity and access to the internet.

Marty took the conversation even further back to 130 years ago to describe the work of Heinrich Hertz, and how the early field of electromagnetism research led to his innovations. Technological progress drove people to want to be more connected. He shared, “My colleagues and I at Motorola could see that the world was ready for personal communications.  People didn’t want to call a car. They didn’t want to call a house as they had been doing for 100 years. They wanted to call a person, and we created the very first personal portable telephone”.

Technology Meets Humanity

The Internet has democratized access to information. People now can access vast amounts of knowledge instantly, enabling self-directed education, research, and informed decision-making. This empowers individuals to become more knowledgeable and informed citizens.

The Internet of Things will improve the human experience by allowing us to be more productive. Artificial intelligence will analyze your behavior and find the right apps to make your life better. IoT can improve the efficiency of energy production and transmission and can help reduce emissions.

We’re truly on a precipice of exciting impacts of cellular technology beyond the ubiquity of the cell phone. This technology will improve the quality of life worldwide. For example, the sensors we use in phones can also measure a person’s pulse and blood pressure. We have the potential to sense a disease before it harms an individual with the goal of truly eradicating disease.

To tackle this complex issue, we need a multidisciplinary approach. It’s not just about the code or algorithms; it’s about understanding human behavior, societal norms, and the delicate balance between individual freedoms and collective responsibilities. Sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, and legal experts play a crucial role in this process. They help us explore how we accept certain behavioral norms in exchange for the benefits provided by our systems, essentially defining the modern social contract.

Challenges in Academia 

Advancement in academia typically relies on metrics like the number of publications and citations, grants obtained, and teaching evaluations. While these metrics reward productivity and quality, they may not adequately recognize or reward true innovation, which might not manifest in immediate publications or measurable outcomes.

To foster innovation in academia, there is a growing recognition of the need to reform these incentive structures. Some initiatives include promoting open science, recognizing alternative forms of research impact, beyond publications and citations, providing dedicated support for interdisciplinary research, and encouraging collaboration with industry,

Vision for the Future

“There is no doubt in my mind that we could increase the capacity of the radio spectrum over the next 50 years by another million times. And that’s a good thing because we are thinking of new ways of using the collaboration of people to solve all of the big problems in the world.” – Marty Cooper

“We need to become smarter in the way we use technology. We need to be more creative. In the past, we had to brute force the entire system […] that strategy no longer works, so we have to become clever.” – Federico

“What we need as a society is to learn how to adapt to a more positive environment. Pay attention to our problems like global warming. Pay attention to smarter use of spectrum. […] You learn sharing when you’re in kindergarten. We should remember those lessons” – Vint Cerf

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What motivated you to take on the role of Chairman of the Marconi Society?  What do you look forward to most about the position?

My new role as Chairman of the Marconi Society has more to do with the Marconi Society and less to do with me. The Marconi Society is critically important for the Communications and Information Technology world. As Vint Cerf’s term as Chairman was ending, the Marconi Society found itself in need of an individual able and willing to expend the time and energy to continue building support for the continued enhancement of the Society’s mission and its global impact. After much thought and discussion with various Board members, Fellows, Young Scholars, and associates, and commitments of support and engagement, I offered to serve as the Marconi Society’s next Chairman.

My strong belief in the mission – to provide and publicize role models for the next generation by recognizing those who have made significant contributions to making the world a better, more productive, and more enjoyable place to live through the world of telecommunication and information technology – made me want to contribute Board leadership for the Marconi Society in its next stage.

Also, very close to my heart is the Young Scholars program. This program is devoted to recognizing and supporting a cadre of extremely bright and accomplished graduate students or early career individuals from around the world who hold the promise of serving as positive change agents. These individuals have the opportunity to be mentored by Marconi Prize Recipients and to build relationships and traits that should not just enhance their career prospects but also enable them to most effectively contribute to the greater world.

I look at the role of Chair as an opportunity to further the mission and the Marconi Society’s various digital inclusion programs and to guide the Marconi Society into the next era. I am looking forward to working with a passionate, dedicated team including my fellow Board Members, our Marconi Fellows, our Young Scholars, our Lifetime Achievement Award recipients, and our Society at large, to strengthen the Marconi Society and continue to support those who change the world.

Tell us about your background and experience in the field of information technology and how it aligns with the goals of the Marconi Society.

One of the Marconi Society’s goals is to support visionaries in corporate arenas, academia, government service and other arenas as well, as they pertain to the Communications and Technology world. My very diverse corporate, academic and government related background in the information and communications technology and business world allows me to integrate into these arenas, and to work effectively in them to develop relationships, identify good candidates for the Marconi Society, and further the goals of our Society.  Most of the first half of my career was spent in large companies starting with IBM with opportunities to help create the IBM PC and roles in both semiconductor technology and software, migrating to Digital Equipment Corp (DEC, now part of HPE) where I became the VP of Software, then to AT&T as a VP overseeing their Computer Business, to NCR as its SVP and CTO when it was split out from AT&T and finally to Motorola ultimately as their EVP and first CTO. 

When I retired, I started the second half of my career by joining academia as a Professor of Computer Science and ultimately as the Vice Provost for Research at the Illinois Institute of Technology.  While there, I formed a wireless consulting company, Roberson and Associates, where I am still the President and CEO.  Along the way, I contributed to the Federal Government through service on the FCC’s Technological Advisory Council (TAC) for over 20 years, including eight as its Chairman.  I have also served on the Department of Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC) for nearly 20 years.  In addition, I have served on a wide variety of public and private company boards and a large number of charitable boards, often as the Chair of the Board. 

This rich and highly varied experience base in the corporate, academic, government, and general board-related areas provides a solid basis for my duties and efforts in my new role as Chairman of the Marconi Society. I’m especially looking forward to continuing to work with the Young Scholars program and enhancing our outreach during my term.

The Paul Baran Young Scholar Award recognizes a diverse group of scientists and engineers. From your time as a member of the Young Scholar Committee, how do you envision working with the next generation of technology leaders to create a more inclusive and equitable digital future?

As one gets older, it’s natural to start thinking about the next generation who will soon take over the world. And as I have matured (gotten old!), a great deal of my energy has been focused on exactly that. Based on this, I have been involved, often at the board level, in several global youth organizations. When I retired from Motorola, my focus on the next generation became a full-time job as a university professor. I have always believed in the importance of guiding today’s youth – tomorrow’s leaders. That role has also been one that I have thoroughly enjoyed and continue to enjoy.

More recently, I have stepped down from board roles in youth organizations and as COVID-19 altered the role, my professorship is now mostly on paper. Now, my focus on the next generation is satisfied through my 12 grandchildren and importantly through the Paul Baran Young Scholar program. Support for our Young Scholars has become an ever-larger focus for me in fulfilling my desire to support the next generation of thought leaders. 

As I take on the role of Chairman, I would like to see the organization place a great deal more focus on the Young Scholars.  This comes in multiple forms. 

• First, we need to re-energize the nomination process.  Before COVID-19, we commonly had well over 30 candidates for the recognition (which was too small a cohort to begin with). This cycle, we have less than a dozen. We need to reinvigorate and publicize the process and the awards, to maximize the benefits and support that the Marconi Society offers to Young Scholars. The good news is that there are still very strong candidates being nominated and happily they come from all over the world, but the recognition should be much more highly coveted drawing a much, much larger set of nominations. 
• The second, offer a guaranteed mentorship opportunity with a Marconi Fellow. From discussions with both Young Scholars and Marconi Fellows, I know that there is interest on both sides of these mentoring opportunities. The Marconi Society will endeavor to simplify and formalize the process, so that there is a guaranteed mentoring opportunity where Young Scholars review the Fellows and select whom they would like to have as a mentor, and Fellows volunteer to review the Young Scholars to select those they would be willing to mentor.  Where there is a match, a guaranteed one-year relationship with monthly check-ins would be established.  Where things go after the year would be up to the two individuals. This would be a huge benefit for the Young Scholars, adding significantly to the value of the recognition.  It would also be a very fulfilling experience for our Fellows and certainly a significant contribution for those who are able and willing to serve as a mentor.
• Lastly, re-launching the Celestini Program to create a more inclusive digital future. Turning to the work of the Young Scholars themselves, a few years ago an ambitious program called the Celestini program was established by the Young Scholars to work on the global challenge of creating a more inclusive and equitable digital future.  The goal and vision for the program was to grow the next generation of diverse innovators by enabling them to apply technology to solve critical problems in their own communities. The Celestini Program focused on a partnership model to pair students with expert mentors in the field of advanced communications to provide opportunities for hands-on, experiential learning. 

The program was initially focused on Uganda where one of the Young Scholars was from, with the notion of using Uganda as a testbed and ultimately extending the model to many other countries around the world.  Unfortunately, the program did require a level of funding that the Marconi Society alone could not support; so, when the Marconi Society was unable to identify additional financial support, the program was curtailed.  Much was learned through the effort, and there were students in Uganda who derived significant benefit from the program. Therefore, as other financial needs are met, the re-launch of the Celestini Program may be a very desirable program for the Marconi Society to support and one that the Young Scholar could benefit by leading.  As with many good ideas, “all” that is needed is a sustainable financial model to enable the program to proceed forward.

How do you plan to continue the evolution of the Marconi Society’s programs to foster innovation in communication technology?

The Marconi Society is well positioned to serve as a convenor for discussions on a variety of telecommunications and information technology related topics for various groups on a global basis. It is our goal to provide a solid basis of information for discussion and furthering technical objectives and innovation. Given the intellectual power and contributions of our Fellows, the enthusiasm and brilliance of our Young Scholars, and the rich experience base of our Members, we have the potential to provide incredibly impactful contributions to various technology and policy issues, again on a global scale. As we continue to contribute knowledge, experience, and ideas, we will be better able to foster innovation. The prestigious Marconi Prize is designed to recognize those who exemplify innovation in the communications technology arena and to establish them as role models for future generations. As our Fellows become more involved with mentoring programs (as discussed above regarding Young Scholars), that, too, will serve to foster innovation and a brighter future for the world.

How do you plan to engage with the broader community, including industry leaders and policymakers, to raise awareness and drive meaningful change in global communications?

In the coming year, the Marconi Society plans to establish an Executive Level Industry Advisory Board to assist the Marconi Society in meaningful efforts to improve the status of people worldwide.  This form of convening provides networking opportunities for many of the current telecom and information technology industry leaders to discuss matters that are currently not being discussed in any other forum.  Through our convener role, we are also establishing forums for the discussion of technology and information related policy issues and, in the U.S., discussions on means and best practices for achieving real digital broadband equity and inclusion.  The hope is that what is learned in these U.S. conversations will be extensible to other parts of the world.

How do the Marconi Society’s programs support digital equity programs such as the “Internet for All initiative”?

Aside from Celestini, over the last few years, the Marconi Society has undertaken two major programs – the Digital Inclusion Leadership Certificate (DILC) program and the Broadband Mapping Coalition.

The Marconi Society developed the DILC program and is partnering with Arizona State University to deliver and administer the program. This 11-week online certificate program is “designed to prepare participants for effective planning, implementation and evaluation of broadband and digital inclusion programs” [source: https://techdatasociety.asu.edu/content/digital-inclusion-leadership-certificate]. Ultimately, these program participants will be well equipped to support digital inclusion and digital equity throughout the United States.

Another digital equity initiative currently in play is the Broadband Mapping Coalition, led by our own Dustin Loup. This coalition has been working to help develop and communicate the tools and methodologies for understanding the broadband coverage in the U.S. 

The goal of the DILC Program and the deliverables developed by the Broadband Mapping Coalition will be valuable not only to the United States, but to other nations as well, as they seek to provide broadband internet connections for their citizens. 

The Marconi Society firmly believes that everyone in the world — not just the United States – should have the opportunity to have broadband Internet access.  The Marconi Society and leading members of our Fellows body were involved in this initiative well before the current Internet for All program was launched.  We therefore take some pride of authorship in the fact that we have been promoting many of the ideas and ideals of the current program for, in some cases, decades.  At least as importantly, our Fellows have created many of the underlying technologies that have brought the broadband Internet into existence.  Our goal is to both continue to recognize and support those who are making the broadband Internet an affordable and available reality for not just the people of the United States, but the peoples of the world.

Lastly, how can individuals and organizations interested in supporting the Marconi Society and its mission get involved?

Happily, we now have a membership program that enables individuals and companies to formally join the Marconi Society and support its efforts. We are working to make our membership program and benefits more robust, and by joining now, individuals and organizations can have a greater impact on the future of the membership program. Some of the many ways members and friends can get involved with the Marconi Society include:

1. Subscribing to the Marconi Signal e-Magazine and encouraging others to do so as well.
2. Becoming involved in our Series of State Case Study Virtual Workshops. 
3. Joining the Broadband Mapping Coalition
4. As a member, participating in one of our technical forums, like the upcoming session with three of our distinguished Marconi Prize Winners and respectively the Internet Pioneer, the Cellphone and the Microprocessor: Vint Cerf, Marty Cooper and Federico Faggin, each of which was initially introduced roughly 50 years ago.
5. Finally, it should be noted that we are also a charitable organization that exists based on donations from like-minded individuals. Those who would like to philanthropically contribute to our efforts are very much encouraged to do so. Visit the Marconi Society website to learn how to contribute.

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Vint Cerf, Internet Pioneer, Marty Cooper, Inventor of the cellphone and Federico Faggin, developer of the microprocessor, will share their stories, insights and predictions for the future in an open discussion with questions and answers.

Vint, Marty and Federico are kicking this event off by sharing a few of their ideas.  Please join us to hear more.

What changes did you envision when you created your transformational innovation?  What did you predict correctly and what have you been surprised about?

Vint Cerf:  Bob Kahn and I expected that interconnecting computers in a network would lead to significant sharing of research results, including software and computational resources. That was the original motivation for the Arpanet experiment, including the demonstration that packet switching technology would prove to be useful for computer interconnection. We extended that concept through the Internet experiment that interconnected computers and packet networks with very different characteristics. The TCP/IP protocol suite overcame these differences to offer a more uniform interface for host computers on a network of networks. 

I was not surprised by the flexibility of the TCP/IP protocol suite to accommodate very different kinds of packet networks. I was surprised, however, by the arrival of the World Wide Web (WWW), thanks to Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s HTTP protocol, and  HTML encoding standard. This triggered an avalanche of new applications, which was amplified by the arrival of the smartphone (Apple iPhone) in 2007. 

The avalanche of content that followed the introduction of the WWW gave rise to demand for indexing of its content. Alta Vista, Yahoo! and Google and others all became important search tools for finding relevant content in a sea of web pages. 

As bandwidths increased, I was not surprised to see video conferencing become a major application – we had been experimenting with that as far back as the Arpanet period. The arrival of neural network machine learning leading to speech recognition, text to speech generation, language translation, and now Large Language Models proved to be another surprise. Early work with the single layer Perceptron neural network was disappointing, but multi-layer systems proved to be dramatically more powerful. These tools are becoming an integral part of the WWW applications we see today. 

Marty Cooper: It wasn’t merely a prediction – I knew that eventually everyone would have a cell phone. I joked, “Someday, when a person is born, she will be assigned a phone number. If she didn’t answer the phone, she has died.” There are now more cell phones in the world than there are people. The cell phone has become an essential tool of productivity, an extension of its owner’s personality. And yet, a third of the world’s population still don’t have cell phones. 

When the handheld cell phone was invented, the Internet did not exist.  We did not have personal computers nor digital cameras, and the large-scale integrated circuit did not exist. In 1973, it would have been hard to imagine a “phone” that incorporated billions of transistors, the equivalent of a supercomputer, a powerful digital cameras and access to all the knowledge in the world. 

Federico Faggin:  The idea of eventually integrating a CPU into a single chip – what defines a microprocessor – had already been advanced in 1967 by Lee Boysel at Fairchild Semiconductor. However microprocessors were not expected to occur before the mid-Seventies because the current MOS metal-gate technology was not dense and fast enough to allow them. It was the unexpected invention and development of the MOS silicon gate technology, the project I successfully led at Fairchild in 1968, that speeded up the timetable to implement all the missing ingredients to make computers on a chip: microprocessors, dynamic RAMs (random access memory), non-volatile memories, and CCD image sensors.

When I joined Intel in April 1970, I led the chip design of all the microprocessors starting with the 4004 microprocessor. To achieve the appropriate speed and circuit density, the 4004 required two inventions of mine: the buried contact and the bootstrap load. Furthermore I had to develop the entire methodology for random logic designs with silicon gates that were also used for all the early Intel and Zilog microprocessors.

The Intel 4004 became the world’s first commercial microprocessor when it was first sold in March 1971. In early 1971, I took over the project that became the world’s first 8-bit commercial microprocessor in April 1972. By the same time I had architected the Intel 8080, and I later led its chip design. The 8080 was commercialized in March 1974. It became an instant success, showing that microprocessors could be broadly applied to many more applications than first-generation microprocessors.

In November 1974 I started Zilog, Inc., the very first company dedicated to microprocessors. At Zilog I architected and led the design of the Z80-CPU, a third-generation 8-bit/16-bit microprocessor with twice the speed of the 8080. Using microprocessors, personal computers began to replace minicomputers. However, the importance of these new chips was also to create novel applications and markets in which a microprocessor-based computer with appropriate software could replace special-purpose hardware solutions that were too costly, inflexible and took too long to develop. Most of these new applications were incongruous and impossible to imagine when the smallest conventional computers were power-hungry, cost thousands of dollars, and were larger than a shoebox. How could a computer fit inside the body, a toy, or a pocket?

I therefore expected to be surprised by most new applications since there is no limit to what can be done with tiny, powerful, and cheap computers. Nonetheless, there were many that I would not have imagined, for example, having a microchip inside an electric toothbrush! Why not when one can buy for less than $1 a general-purpose computer the size of a pea that dissipates less than 100 mW?

Looking ahead, what emerging technologies do you believe will have the most profound impact on society in the next 50 years? 

Vint Cerf:  For sure, large language models and other neural network applications are bound to have power impacts on daily life and work. The “Interplanetary Internet” is set to support manned and robotic space exploration and commercialization in the 2020’s and beyond. The Internet of Things (devices with computing and Internet communication capacity) will become increasingly common. 

Less certain – but no less intriguing – will be vehicle-to-vehicle communication assisting self-driving vehicles in their work. Machine learning of all kinds may inform diagnostic work (e.g. medical, maintenance) and discovery (e.g. drugs, asteroid threats). New forms of detection and measurement will create a deeper understanding of how the universe works (think: dark matter, dark energy, strong nuclear forces ). Medical diagnosis and treatment will advance with AI/ML, small molecule therapies, new diagnostic tools, and personalized treatment. 

Marty Cooper:  When artificial intelligence (AI) is added to a cell phone, the phone will become a true extension of its owner. The AI will analyze the behavior, habits and preferences of the owner, and will either create or locate appropriate apps to relieve the owner of the routine aspects of his or her life.  The ludicrous idea of sorting through 4 million apps to find the right one will disappear.

Further, the cell phone will evolve into a group of sensors located on or in its owner’s body, selected based upon the owner’s history and DNA.  These sensors will monitor key metrics that will anticipate diseases and provide for their cure while they are still nascent. A few generations from now, the concept of disease will be obsolete

Federico Faggin: Artificial intelligence (AI) is the technology with the most potential applications. In the last 10 years AI has reached a level of performance and readiness to turn it into a technology with arguably even more widespread applications than the original microprocessors. Natural-language programming, self-driving vehicles, and robots of all types are just a few examples of embedded AI. Here again, I expect that human creativity will surprise all of us.

Quantum computers will also come of age, allowing us to go way beyond the speed of classical computers, especially when applied to the simulation of living organisms. Such systems, being both quantum and classical, are way too complex to be simulated classically, Semiconductor technology will reach maturity in 10-20 years and Moore’s Law will end. Only biological organisms have the promise to give us a quantum and classical technology that may top semiconductors in terms of integration, speed, and energy consumption.  

Genetic manipulation will allow us to create new microorganisms and new forms of multicellular life with incredible potential for good and evil. The challenging ethical problems currently posed by the widespread adoption of AI are trifles compared with what is in store for us 20 years from now in conjunction with genetic manipulation. Only a planetary-scale regulation may avoid potential existential risks for mankind and for the ecosystem.

Collaboration and interdisciplinary efforts have been instrumental in many  technological advancements.  In fact, this is why the Marconi Society focuses at the intersection of technology, policy and digital inclusion to support digital equity. What disciplines do you think need to come together to solve the issue of income inequality?

Vint Cerf:  We need better evaluation of strengths (think Gallup StrengthFinder on steroids), as well as tools that augment human capacity to analyze large data collections and hypothesize new theories. We will need a deeper understanding of Machine Learning to use these tools more reliably. Advances in spectrum sharing and efficient utilization will be key to ensuring that everyone has access to the connectivity and speeds that they need..  

Marty Cooper:  Advancements and universality of education is the key to solving many of the problems humanity faces today!

Full-time connectivity is transforming our antiquated educational process from a classroom/lecture process to full time learning based upon a student’s continuous access to all the knowledge in the world. The roles of teachers and students are already changing dramatically and will be revolutionized in coming generations. The idea of a teacher lecturing to students who have full-time access to all the world’s knowledge is ludicrous.  Teachers need to focus on how their students can discriminate between real and fake information, and how to apply the vast amount of information to real world problems.

In order to achieve the potential of a connected society, radio-frequency spectrum must be available.  Our politicians and regulators have treated radio spectrum as a scarce resource. Yet, there has never been a scarcity of spectrum. Technology has always provided the capacity to accommodate the burgeoning applications in areas like communications, national defense, and global positioning. Further, technology already exists that will provide additional capacity for at least another 50 years.

Federico Faggin: Science, philosophy, and spirituality need to converge into a new worldview that replaces the materialistic and reductionist perspective that currently dominates society.

I strongly believe that it will be impossible to solve the many problems we are now facing if we think that we are perishable machines guided by the “survival of the fittest” doctrine. This is the same principle that fostered climate change, the proliferation of nuclear arms, AI-based cybercrime, as well as the income inequality mentioned. This same egotistical doctrine is also behind the endless series of wars that have affected humanity since recorded history.

I believe that humanity may overcome the challenging times in front of us only when science finally recognizes the existence of consciousness and free will as properties that cannot exist in deterministic systems.

Only strong cooperation can save us, not the life-and-death competition inherent in the “survival of the fittest” doctrine. We need to recognize that in the connected world, we live in, the good and the evil we do unto others will inevitably return to their doers.

I believe this is the only option left. We are indeed all living together on a tiny planet sailing in the unfathomable space of the universe. Only by working together with respect and love for each other can we overcome the serious problems we have created for ourselves.

The post 50 Years Ago and In the Future appeared first on The Marconi Society.

Click here for panelist slides.

The Marconi Society is proud to present the first state case study in our virtual event series, A National Inflection Point: The Intersection of Research & Education Networks and Sustainable Digital Equity Initiatives.

Our team of California experts shared their perspectives on all things about connecting Californians to opportunity through broadband.  Here are just a few highlights from this important discussion:

We must solve geographic, policy and business issues to get broadband to many underserved areas.

From a business perspective, companies often come into an area and cherry-pick the most potentially lucrative parts of the market, leaving lower income and more remote areas without service.  It can make it difficult for state and federally funded providers to create workable business models serving those “in between” locations.  These locations often include challenging geographies with hills, valleys and gullies, as well as difficulties gaining  environmental permits.  Carefully crafted public / private partnerships can be a solution, though no one entity or solution will work for all areas.  

Local advocacy organizations must keep close watch on the policies and funding eligibility for their communities and work with government leaders to surface inequities and fight for adequate funding.

From a policy perspective, California passed Senate Bill 156, allocating $6B to advancing broadband infrastructure across the state and, for the first time ever, giving counties the right to operate and maintain broadband infrastructure.  This has allowed a unique, community-driven approach to creating networks in rural areas.

Accurate broadband maps are a critical and problematic part of getting infrastructure dollars where they are most needed.

The FCC National Broadband Map determines how billions of dollars in infrastructure funding will be allocated to states, territories and Tribes.

Many locations, including Tribal Lands, are misrepresented in these maps, many of which are based on information from internet service provider (ISP) marketing departments.  Many Tribal Lands are designated as “served” areas because they received licenses for 2.5 Ghz spectrum during recent FCC auctions.  While this spectrum provides one tool for serving these areas, it is inadequate and multiple solutions are needed. As long as Tribal Lands are classified as “served” locations on the FCC National Broadband Map, they may be ineligible for other funding opportunities.  

The mapping data in a number of urban areas and multi-dwelling units is also inaccurate.

Independent groups, such as the National Broadband Mapping Coalition, are doing very good work to identify problems with the FCC’s broadband maps, as well as strategies for correcting those maps during the state challenge process.

Know your state agency or partner if you are building out a middle mile network together.

Partnering on a middle mile network buildout kicks off a deep and long term relationship.  It is important to understand your parter’s experience, expectations and priorities in the following areas:

• Experience in networking.  Do they have experience owning and operating a network or is their expertise in administration?
• Staff and leadership, as well as political and policy priorities.  The balance between pragmatism (on time, on budget program execution) and idealism (services, geography and quality) must always be considered. 
• Expectations for long term network operating and maintenance costs.  If the partner does not have network operating experience, education is a critical component.  You will need content to help your partner understand what it takes to run a carrier class network, buy vs. build vs. borrow options, and the like so that they can make fully informed decisions about the middle mile and how to measure and achieve success.

Fundamentals of successful partnering are critical to delivering the opportunities of the network to everyone.

When asked for one lesson they would like to share with other states, panelists consistently focused on the ingredients for successful partnerships.

• “It takes a village to connect a state. We need to focus further ahead, while addressing legacy solutions. Think about what infrastructure and network will bring and how they will impact adoption and more rapid deployment of whatever those future technologies are.”  Sylvie Wong Cosgrove
• “Instead of just worrying about infrastructure itself, we looked at some of the other root causes of why people can’t access the internet. Affordability, adoption, literacy – these were the problems we solved for.  Collaboration was the key to accelerating the process.”  Kevin Harbour
• “Because rural county representatives sit between the state, where money and programs are, and the local governments that comprise our member counties, where the need is, we can only get this done with partnerships.  We need government, private, and organizational partners at all levels to get everyone up on broadband in an inclusive way.”  Barbara Hayes
• “Often money is spent to fix a specific issue at the local level and we miss the need to interconnect back to the larger telecom world. Without that connection, those last mile investments aren’t effective. If there’s any one thing I’ve learned in this process is that a variety of solutions and corporate partnerships is key.  For any state, the solution set is a complex mix.”  Eric Hunsinger
• “Building networks is a team sport.  Everyone brings a different piece of the puzzle and we need to streamline, make the process more efficient, and create easy access.”  Kim Lewis
• “Successful management is based on trust between partners.  Both parties need to  achieve the balance between idealism and pragmatism.”  Tony  Naughtin
• “Everyone comes to the table with different experiences.  Partners need to manage expectations, leave their egos at the door, and make sure that all efforts focus on the end goal, rather than the individual perspectives.  This only works if we’re all solving for the same goal.”  Matt Rantanen
• “Keep your goal in mind and keep reminding people of that goal when they design programs and policies.  Then you can hold them accountable for designing to the goal, rather than building programs in silos.”  Connie Stewart
  
  

The post Conversation Highlights appeared first on The Marconi Society.

John brings a unique and powerful skillset to lead the Marconi Society through its next phase of growth.  Learn more about his vision and plans for the organization.

What motivated you to take on the role of President and CEO of the Marconi Society, and what do you look forward to most?

Throughout my career, I have been committed to fostering collaboration between industry, government, and academia to drive advances in technology that bring opportunities to everyone. By forging partnerships across these sectors, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of collaboration in producing benefits for society. As the leader of the Inclusive Engineering Consortium (IEC), I plan to leverage the synergy between the IEC and Marconi Society constituencies to work toward our common goals. Several IEC Fellows have been recognized as Marconi Society Fellows. I look forward to bringing the Marconi Society into the relationships that I have built over the years. In addition, I am looking forward to fostering new and impactful technologies that help connect everyone.

How do you envision leveraging technology advancements to create a more inclusive and equitable digital future, and what role does the Marconi Society play in this?

The Marconi Society is in a perfect position to continue and expand our work to ensure that everyone can benefit from the opportunities of connectivity.  We understand that far too many communities, in the US and worldwide, need significant support to help residents grow and thrive.

Our programs are built to leverage our expertise in leading-edge technology for good and collaboration between the technology, policy and digital equity communities. We look forward to educating these audiences about the importance of collaboration, lifting up successes and driving conversations that will move the needle on creating digitally equitable communities.  

One way to address these challenges is through joint investments among industry partners that can lead to the expansion of infrastructure. This can involve distributing the costs of deploying broadband networks, building new data centers, or upgrading existing infrastructure to improve connectivity. The Marconi Society can foster industry collaborations that result in access to state-of-the-art technologies, research and development capabilities, and industry best practices.

The Marconi Society has a rich history of recognizing outstanding contributions in the field of communications and technology. What are your plans for continuing this legacy and promoting innovation in the digital equity space?

The Marconi Prize continues to be an important celebration of human achievement. By recognizing leaders in communication technology, we have an opportunity to highlight the challenges and advancements in our field. Education plays a vital role in advancing technology projects by cultivating the next generation of innovators, researchers, and problem solvers. My many years of work with leaders in electrical and computer engineering education will help raise the visibility of the Young Scholars Program. The Marconi Society’s partnership with Arizona State University to create the Digital Inclusion Leadership Certificate is an excellent example of collaborations we should strengthen. Equipping future innovators with the background they need to expand access to broadband technologies and advance digital inclusion is critical to achieving the necessary outcomes.

How do you plan to engage with the broader community, including industry leaders and policymakers, to raise awareness and drive meaningful change in global communications?

Collaborating with industry has been instrumental in bridging the gap between cutting-edge technological advancements and real-world applications. Industry leaders bring valuable insights into feasibility and scalability of projects, which are critical to the successful implementation of technology projects. Government collaboration is equally essential, as it provides the necessary policy support, regulatory frameworks, and funding to drive technology projects forward. I look forward to developing new Marconi Society initiatives by leveraging my experience of bringing together today’s industry and government leaders to address broadband challenges and opportunities. The Marconi Society’s National Broadband Mapping Coalition is a great example of the essential work still to be done in this area to achieve digital equity. With a network representing some of the brightest minds in technology and the strongest advocates for equity, I would like to see Marconi Society membership grow to take on similar initiatives. 

Lastly, how can individuals and organizations interested in supporting the Marconi Society and its mission get involved?

Help your networks understand the importance of digital equity and how the Marconi Society continues to work towards a more equitable world.

Our current workshop series, A National Inflection Point: The Intersection of Research & Education Networks and Sustainable Digital Equity Initiatives, features state case studies about successful initiatives in delivering broadband for all. 

Our newly launched Digital Inclusion Leadership Certificate, offered in partnership with Arizona State University, is a great opportunity to help build a workforce that is highly skilled in the critical technology, policy and digital inclusion fundamentals of digital equity.  Join a cohort and tell your colleagues.

A great way for individuals and organizations to support the mission of the Marconi Society is to become a member. 

I look forward to hearing from all our members. An active and engaged membership will help determine the future direction of the Marconi Society.  Feel free to email me at john@marconisociety.org. 

The post Meet John Janowiak appeared first on The Marconi Society.

The Marconi Society wishes Signore Marconi a happy birthday with messages from some of the innovators who have taken his work further than he might have ever dreamed.

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Vinton Cerf

1998 Marconi Fellow, recognized for the technical achievements and ambassadorial leadership which have been such major factors in the creation and evolution of the Internet.

Dear Sig. Marconi, 

It is 2023 and your dramatic demonstration of transatlantic radio transmission in 1901 has fulfilled the promise of global radio communication in ways that might surprise you. Whole industries have been created from commercial radio services to wireless, hand-held telephones and Earth orbiting satellites that connect every square inch of the Earth to every other square inch by way of a global “Internet.”

In our homes, businesses, cars and persons, we carry radio-based devices. We connect to the global Internet with local radios using “Wi-Fi” technology. Devices with computers in them (based on transistor technology invented in 1947) are also connected to the Internet with low power radio.

As I write this, rockets are taking radio to the Moon to support long-term human research and commercial sites there. We have been using a Deep Space Network system with antennas 70 m in size to communicate with spacecraft that are 14 billion miles away from earth and entering interstellar space. We are far from fully exploring all the implications of your pioneering work. We use radio to connect our watches (!) to our smartphones to the Internet to monitor our health. Our manufacturing facilities are using radio to connect equipment together with our computers to automate manufacturing. Robots are becoming increasingly common and for mobility, they use radio to communicate status and to receive instructions.

How I wish you could return to see what has been wrought from those early experiments at Villa Griffone!

Vint Cerf
Chairman, Marconi Society
Co-inventor of the Internet

____________

Marty Cooper

2013 Marconi Fellow, recognized for  being a wireless visionary who reshaped the concept of mobile communication.

My Dear Signore Marconi,

Over 120 years have passed since your vision of wireless communication was proven and you successfully commercialized that vision. You started us on a path that has positively revolutionized the human experience. Science has expanded the capacity of the radio-frequency spectrum by a trillion times and is opening the door to further revolutions in education, health care, and the elimination of poverty. Congratulations and Happy Birthday!

Marty

__________________

John Cioffi

2006 Marconi Fellow, recognized for pioneering research that helped create DSL (digital subscriber line) circuits bringing broadband Internet access to hundreds of millions of people.

Giovanni Corazza

Marconi Society Board Member and President, Fondazione Guglielmo Marconi

The wireless revolution started in the outskirts of Bologna, where a young inventor had the dream to realize non-line-of-sight connections through electromagnetic wave propagation. In 1895, Guglielmo Marconi succeeded in overcoming the Celestini’s Hill in front of Villa Griffone, a milestone that the IEEE has recognized as the start of a new era. 

Since then, myriad applications for telecommunications, navigation, sensing, and control followed in a restless progression that will continue in the years to come for the pursuit of Marconi’s vision of a fully interconnected planet Earth.

John Cioffi and Giovanni Emanuele Corazza

_________________

Whitfield Diffie

2000 Marconi Fellow, recognized for his invention of public-key cryptography to protect privacy on the Internet.

Radio created the modern field of cryptography.  Radio bypassed all the information security techniques known at the turn of the 20th Century, except cryptography.  The result was an explosive expansion of cryptography to meet the needs of radio.  Eventually, the tubes that had made radio possible became the basis for cryptographic devices.  Today there is a radio (built from transistors, the successors of tubes) in everyone’s pocket and we use transistor-based cryptography to protect their communications.

 Whit

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Federico Faggin

1988 Marconi Fellow, recognized for his pioneering contributions to the implementation of the microprocessor, a principal building block of modern telecommunications.

I believe your confidence in the power of electromagnetic waves to be general carriers of information at all scales, combined with the information processing capabilities of microelectronics and software, have changed our world in ways that would make you most surprised and proud.

Best regards and wishes

Federico

_________________

Leonard Kleinrock

1986 Marconi Fellow, recognized  for his scholarly pioneering work in telecommunications particularly as applied to computer networks.

Dear Sig. Marconi, 

You represent the essence of what drives an inventor and an innovator.  As a young man you were fascinated with the magical world of invisible electricity.  You combined that which makes great scientists, namely, the search for how things work and, importantly, why they work that way.  

It was your curiosity and vision that led to your huge contributions to the wonders of radio waves and their applications.  In your backyard you launched those waves using equipment that you yourself crafted.  How magnificent!  Those breakthroughs have brought us forward for over a century of innovation and impact.  

Now, as we celebrate your 149^th birthday, we can only imagine what follows over the next many decades.  We live in the world of the Internet today, driven in so many ways by the wonders of your wireless legacy.   We can look forward and imagine how wireless could assist us in producing a pervasive global nervous system in which the Internet and its progeny will be invisible in that they will disappear into the infrastructure.

Leonard Kleinrock

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Brad Parkinson

2016 Marconi Fellow, recognized for technical leadership in the design and development of the Global Positioning System.

Happy Birthday Inventor Marconi,

You would be gratified to see the fabulous advances in communication that you pioneered. We now have the ability to transmit and receive full three-dimensional images between virtually anyone, anywhere in the world. You pioneered radio navigation that is now advanced to a worldwide submeter level capability. 

In your IEEE acceptance speech, you correctly anticipated that we could use radio waves to locate and sense the shape of distance objects. This has now progressed to the point we have several such affordable devices, called radars, on many of our new automobiles.  

You did not experience a technology that we call artificial intelligence. This has now reached the point that machines can simulate people in all aspects that are virtually indiscernible from the real thing. So, looking to the future, predictions are hard. But the intersection of this new artificial intelligence and the ability to re-create completely realistic images of people at a distance probably has some very profound implications. I think it will be incumbent on all of us to try to avoid any dark underside of these developments and ensure they are used for positive purposes rather than to harm humankind.

Brad

________________

Arogyaswami Paulraj

2014 Marconi Fellow, recognized for his pioneering contributions to developing the theory and applications of MIMO antennas.

Dr. Marconi,

Happy Birthday!

Your inventive spirit, perseverance, and business leadership made wireless telegraphy a truly global service – bridging continents and connecting ships across the vast oceans. Later, these same skills helped you build a successful radio broadcasting service reaching millions of homes with news and entertainment. You pioneered global connectivity.

Wireless has evolved in amazing ways, and today it enables anytime / anywhere access to something called the internet, allowing billions of people to connect to services that would have seemed magical in your day.  Indeed, wireless has become a key transformative infrastructure of the world today. But the revolution continues, and wireless will soon connect hundreds of billions of machines and sensors, creating a new magical world in the years to come.

Your legacy lives on!

Paul

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Eric Plum

2009 Paul Baran Young Scholar, recognized for his work in dynamic control of metamaterial optical properties.

Dear Inventor Marconi,  

It is the year of 2023 and there are more radio transmitters than people. Your invention of wireless communication now enables my children to find out about everything they can think of within seconds. The world is undergoing another transformation, with machines now able to perform tasks perceived as creative, imaginative, and intelligent, from writing speeches, stories, and poems to creating realistic images of paintings, sculptures, people and events that never existed. The implications for society are immense and the power of radio makes these new tools available to all.  

Eric Plum 

_________________

Dennis Roberson

Marconi Society Board

Senator Marconi,

Happy 149^th Birthday!  Thank you for the enormous gift you bestowed on our world through the creation of the field of wireless communications.  Through your tireless efforts you continuously extended the reach of your creation.  

Since your time, the forms of information communications have dramatically expanded, including communications between humans and machines that store and disseminate  information including the instantaneous transmission of images and video information used for academic, commercial, government, and leisure applications.  

The knowledge of the world has largely been captured in massive data warehouses and is wirelessly available to an ever-increasing percentage of the world’s population.  Over the coming decade, wireless and computer technologies will lead to the widespread availability of driverless automobiles, virtual or augmented reality, remote medical services, worldwide educational opportunities and much more leading to an era of global digital inclusion.  These applications will run on an integrated broadband terrestrial and satellite network that will be universally available at an affordable price.  To some degree these capabilities will even be available on the moon and beyond.  

Though you foresaw many of the applications of wireless technology, I am sure you would be amazed and very proud of how your creation has evolved and how it has improved the quality of life for the peoples of the world.  We are deeply indebted to you for the foundational contributions you made to our modern world.

Dennis Roberson

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Andrew J. Viterbi

1990 Marconi Fellow, recognized for his achievements in the field of digital communications in many adverse environments, particularly through his widely used algorithm.

Egregio Senatore Guglielmo Marconi,

When Professor Henrich Rudolf Hertz (whose name replaced the archaic “cycles-per-second” measure) experimentally validated the phenomenon of electromagnetic signal propagation in the late 1880’s, he proceeded to predict that the phenomenon would have no practical purpose. A decade later, you proved him dramatically wrong through your early transatlantic transmissions,  followed by your creation of the lucrative radio broadcasting industry which began the distribution of information and entertainment worldwide and ultimately the transformation of society.

Complimenti e Distinti Saluti, 

Andrew Viterbi

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