[Chapter-delegates] Vint Cerf speaks to Churchhill Club at SRI, Menlo Park

[Annalisa]

Vint
Cerf speaks at The Churchill Club
By Annalisa Roger, Vice-chair San
Francisco Bay Internet Society
annalisa at sfbayisoc.org

 
January 7, 2010, SRI, Menlo Park – Internet
Pioneer, VP & Chief Internet Evangelist of Google, Dr. Vint Cerf was
invited to a discussion with moderator Ms. Jessica Vascellaro, Tech Reporter
for The San Francisco Bureau for The Wall Street Journal by The Churchhill
Club.
What is Next With The Internet? Vint
Cerf Looks Ahead was the title of the program.  Cerf delivered his personal insight into the future
of technology for Churchhill Club members and guests at a dinner reception
sponsored by The Stanford Research Institute last night.  
Marcia Nguyen, Director of the Club’s Corporate Relations greeted us upon
entering.   The Churchhill Club, a non-profit organization
is one of Silicon Valley's premier business and technology forums with a
reputation for dynamic, in-the-news topics and line-ups of senior executives
who are the drivers of change.  Vint Cerf
joked the number of Ph.D.’s in the room of must be one of the highest concentrations
of PhD’s in the world.   The Churchill Club is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year. 
I enjoyed a moment with Dr. Vint Cerf before dinner.  We last chatted briefly in Washington D.C. at
an ICANN event a few months ago.  As
always, he wore his signature elegant three piece suit and was in good spirits.  I have heard him speak many times at
various events since meeting him in Wellington, NZ several years ago.  I explained to Vint while its always such an
honor to see him, tonight was especially exciting for me because for the first
time I was going to hear him present his ideas and visions.  This was an opportunity to “see” into the
future right here in the Bay Area!  Vint
is funny, he likes to joke around and always keeps it fun and friendly.
He started the evening off with a spontaneous and clever joke that made the
entire house laugh out loud!  (Sorry, but
it was one of those – you had to be there – type of jokes)  With everyone laughing, he and Jessica Vascellaro
were off to a wonderful start and I knew we were in for a fabulous and
memorable evening.  
One of the many and very interesting topics he covered in depth was cloud
computing and specifically from our mobile devices …see this informative article
I found already published today on the web, which reiterates very well what Cerf
said yesterday about how cloud computing will likely be used by all of us.  http://www.infoworld.com/d/cloud-computing/cerf-urges-standards-cloud-computing-817.  
Vascellaro and Cerf discussed mobile devices over the next five years which
he described as (your phone) becoming your personal remote control to
everything from your appliances at home to your car and to information on the
web and for accessing clouds.  Cerf
explained there is no reason that you should be sitting in a traffic jam with a
mobile device without being able to see what’s up ahead while everyone going in
the opposite direction of you on the same highway also has a mobile device and has
the information you need!
Interplanetary networking which Vint Cerf is involved with is clearly an
exciting topic for him.  Bouncing like a
kid in his seat, he exclaimed, “I wish I were eight (years old) so I could see
where this goes in 50 – 60 years!”  When space
craft from various countries and companies have completed their missions,
rather than float around uselessly in outer space, they can be outfitted and
used to grow a network which can reach farther and farther out into space.  As more people and robotic craft continue to operate
in space they will need to connect out there and this will be  essential. 
Vascellaro brought up broadcasting spectrums.  Cerf explained to us how it could be shared
and used differently than it is today.  He sees the unused parts of the frequency spectrum known as white space needing
to be tapped into and shared.   
He was excited about the changing medium of video which today still takes
many forms such as DVDs, Netflix, T.V. etc… he sees video merging into one online
form and being easily accessible thru an increase in packets.  
He spoke technically of optical switching, the dynamics and future of high
packet switching as well as broadband sharing and access.  Cerf said, “I care about getting more
broadband out there.” When asked if Google was considering providing worldwide infrastructure,
Cerf’s reply was “no.”  The value Cerf
sees in broadband is not in revenue for one company, but for cities and regions
themselves to realize new jobs, applications, businesses and taxes.
Vascellaro continued the discussion by inviting questions from Churchhill
members. Cerf would jog effortlessly across the room and bound over chair legs and
blocked pathways around the tables with the mic to meet each person.  My favorite response came in reply to a
question from the audience about a concern of dummying down our youth with the
dependence on more and more sophisticated technology used by children.  Cerf insisted it is absolutely crucial to
teach our kids critical thinking skills which cannot be replaced regardless of
how many devices they will have available to help with information and
computations.  Cerf stressed strong critical
thinking abilities remain invaluable and irreplaceable to all individuals. 
This was truely an enjoyable evening.  It was clear the full house of 200 felt the same.  Cerf expressed his passion for technology and
our future with wit and genius.  Vint Cerf
flew in from Washington D.C. for this event and yet stayed late chatting graciously
with everyone who wanted a few minutes with him…and that included me, eager to thank
him and express my excitement of his ideas and visions, Vint spoke first, asking
me if I thought he did a good job!  
Churchhill Programs are held throughout the Bay Area and provide valuable
information on technology, entrepreneurship, life sciences, business leadership
and innovation.  The independent platform
created by Churchhill allows for an exchange of ideas, opinions, and viewpoints
in panels and open discussions.  Collaborators
and competitors often meet on the Churchill Club stage with authoritative
moderators who go beyond the hype to get the real story. Attendees have the
opportunity to ask questions directly to panelists, uncensored by the
moderator. Churchhill Club members enjoy the opportunity to network with the
best of Silicon Valley.  www.churchillclub.org
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