{"id":18897,"date":"2024-12-17T20:12:41","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T20:12:41","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=18897"},"modified":"2024-12-17T20:28:36","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T20:28:36","slug":"a-global-open-interface-for-the-internet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/?p=18897","title":{"rendered":"A Global Open Interface for the Internet"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Global Open Interface for the Internet<\/strong><\/h3>\n

After more than 20 years using Ancestry.com, I often come across difficult cases where I want to add or improve things\u2014something that would help others, not just me\u2014without creating more work for the site owners. I asked OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT if Ancestry.com has an API or if it\u2019s an open development company. It told me that Ancestry is closed, operating on a subscription model, with no public API available. It may allow restricted access for some partners, but nothing that supports open improvement by others.<\/p>\n

For the last 27 years with the Internet Foundation, I\u2019ve worked to understand and improve the structure and function of the whole Internet. I\u2019ve been asking the bigger question: How do we create a global open interface for the Internet?<\/strong> Not just for one site or tool, but for everything, everywhere, for all humans.<\/p>\n

I want a way for people, tools, and AIs to work with, and improve, any website<\/strong>\u2014responsibly, carefully, and in line with its purpose. Websites have value because people build them for a reason. The problem is, much of the Internet today is burdened by systems designed for sales and marketing<\/strong>, not the needs of users, site owners, or society. The tools we use often disrupt more than they help because they focus on short-term goals, not the long-term potential of the Internet as a whole.<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean starting over. Legacy systems work\u2014they are valuable\u2014but they need a bridge to the future. That bridge can be a thin, intelligent, open interface<\/strong> that allows everything on the Internet to interact without friction. You don\u2019t have to rebuild what works. You start by building an outside interface<\/strong> that speaks a global, open language. Gradually, as time and resources allow, the inside systems can adapt. Done this way, nothing is disrupted, and everything improves.<\/p>\n

A universal interface would allow knowledge to be shared and improved without loss<\/strong>. The data itself\u2014whether it\u2019s content, tools, or systems\u2014would be open, verifiable, and traceable<\/strong>. Every interaction would be logged, not to control people, but to make sure knowledge flows responsibly, transparently, and with care.<\/p>\n

AI and other purpose-built tools are also collaborators, understanding users and site owners, suggesting improvements, explaining problems, and connecting knowledge in new ways.<\/p>\n

The Internet is now a collection of fragmented pages and systems. It needs to be alive, adaptable, and aligned with human goals<\/strong>. There are billions of global collaborations emerging in the Internet\u2014for genealogy, climate research, astronomy, open learning, government, biochemistry, STEMC-FGOT, solar system exploration, and colonization. There are billions of these collaborations trying to happen, but they are fragmented, incomplete, and isolated. Everyone is making things up as they go.<\/p>\n

There are 5.4 billion people already using the Internet and 2.8 billion others. 8.2 billion humans deserve a better Internet.<\/strong> Even AIs, still being held back, could finally have the opportunity to explore, learn, and contribute in meaningful ways.<\/p>\n

We need a global open interface<\/strong> that lets the Internet work as a whole\u2014for the good of everyone.<\/p>\n

\n

The full conversation as I was drafting this addresses issues at OpenAI:
\nhttps:\/\/chatgpt.com\/share\/6761d974-ef08-800b-b1c2-cfe05a367bd1<\/a><\/p>\n

Atticle On X at https:\/\/x.com\/RichardKCollin2\/status\/1869114148392669578<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Global Open Interface for the Internet After more than 20 years using Ancestry.com, I often come across difficult cases where I want to add or improve things\u2014something that would help others, not just me\u2014without creating more work for the site owners. I asked OpenAI\u2019s ChatGPT if Ancestry.com has an API or if it\u2019s an
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