04 October 2000

Dyson Says Internet Opens the Door to Global Dialogue

Author emphasizes interactive potential of Internet

By Charlene Porter
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Internet communications are changing the balance of power in the world today because of their capability to connect people who share a common cause despite geographic barriers separating them, according to prominent technology commentator and author Esther Dyson. She was a keynote speaker October 3 at NetDiplomacy 2000, a conference at the U.S. Department of State headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The Internet's "fundamental essence is that it is two-way. It connects people, not just machines," Dyson said. That interactivity and the connection between people, she said, is of greater significance than the medium's use as a distribution channel for content.

The author of "Release 2.0: A Design for Living in the Digital Age," Dyson described the Internet as a "technology for freedom." She told her audience, "It's tremendously exciting, but it's confusing. People don't know what the truth is any more."

Dyson is also chairwoman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), an international body responsible for developing policy for Internet infrastructure, domain names and technical standards. In that capacity, Dyson has been barraged with e-mail communication from Internet users all over the world who are attempting to influence ICANN's policy direction.

Approaching its second anniversary, the ICANN board attempts to monitor and participate in this international electronic communication. But since the board has no authority to impose laws or regulation on the Internet, and can only act with consensus, Dyson said ICANN encourages the dialogue to enlighten its deliberations, attempting to exploit the interactive strengths of the medium.

Creating an international dialogue on policy issues is a strategy the State Department should pursue as it increases public diplomacy efforts on the Internet, according to this author and commentator. "You're simply creating a platform where people can come and discuss," Dyson said in an interview following her speech at the NetDiplomacy conference.

Dyson suggested that ICANN and the State Department share common challenges in attempting to make sense of the global electronic dialogue. "If you are supposed to be open and accountable, and look for consensus, you have to listen to everybody .... You can't be arbitrary and unfair."

The potential always exists for electronic dialogue to degenerate into a pointless contest of egos, or exchanges of temper and insult, Dyson said, so finding a way to create useful discourse is the greatest challenge. Speaking candidly, the ICANN chairman acknowledged that she doesn't yet know precisely how to achieve that.

Whatever the dialogue, Dyson said maintaining truth should be the primary guideline in communicating with an Internet audience in order to be a force for credibility, stability and reliability. "You have to encourage people to think for themselves, while at the same time not brainwashing them. Encourage them to be skeptical, but to believe you, if you're telling the truth .... Our challenge is ... to cater to people's common sense, to cater to people's willingness to believe what is credible by also exposing what is not credible."

Dyson made her appearance at the NetDiplomacy 2000 conference on a day when news reports emerged from China describing new Internet rules imposed by the government. They require that content providers apply for licenses, and conform with Chinese administrative laws and regulations. Questioned about the implications of this action, Dyson called it "disturbing, distressing, and unfortunately, no surprise."

Opinions in the Internet community vary as to how Western governments and businesses should respond to such restrictions, and Dyson said she has not reached a conclusion in that debate. However, she did re-emphasize the importance of truth as this new medium is defined in the global community. "The most important thing is for ourselves to be a model of truth, candor, disclosure, honesty, and try to show that it works, that you don't lose face by admitting the truth. You solve problems that way," Dyson said.

At the same time she is an advocate of the Internet as a communications medium and an actor in shaping its future, Dyson also underscores the limitations of the medium. "I think the Internet sends out a false promise of both knowledge and intimacy, confusing them with access to lots of information on the one hand, and access to people on the other. How you deal with that I don't know .... It doesn't replace thinking and knowledge."

Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.
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