Kahn also discussed the challenges facing the hardware industry, particularly in the US. He highlighted the country's lack of leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, which has been overtaken by Taiwan, South Korea, and China. While he supports efforts to rectify this, he pointed out that a significant problem will be finding the personnel to operate these sites and teach the necessary skills in schools. He emphasized the importance of workforce development in overcoming these challenges.
Key takeaways:
- Robert Kahn, co-creator of the internet, discusses the evolution of technology and the internet, noting that many of the problems we face today have been seen and possibly solved before.
- Kahn's work on "knowbots" or AI agents, and the digital object architecture, prefigured modern ideas like AI agents and blockchain.
- He expresses disappointment that certain approaches that could have made a difference in the internet's development were not adopted, and he believes that the concept of digital objects interacting with each other is a different notion of the internet.
- Kahn also comments on the US chip industry, noting the need for the US to regain its leadership role in semiconductor manufacturing and the challenges in workforce development.