SAEDNEWS: Today, it is impossible to imagine life on Earth without the internet, and all aspects of our lives are, in one way or another, connected to it. Have you ever thought about who the real inventor of the internet is?
According to Saednews, Today, for many people around the world, imagining a single day without the internet is almost impossible. But have you ever wondered who first introduced this revolutionary technology?
According to Saed News, Vinton Cerf, an American computer scientist, is widely recognized as one of the “fathers of the internet.” However, until a few years ago, another figure, Robert Brimmer, was also mentioned in relation to this major 20th-century innovation. Robert Kahn is also frequently named among the internet’s founding fathers.
Despite the importance of this groundbreaking invention, there is surprisingly little information about Robert Brimmer in Persian-language sources. Most of the available information about him online is related to his passing.
Brimmer contributed to the creation of ASCII, the universal computer language that converts text into numbers. He was also among the first scientists to warn about the Y2K (Year 2000) problem. He passed away at the age of 84 in Texas due to cancer. Without his contributions to computer encoding systems like ASCII, modern technologies such as email, laser printers, and even video batteries might not exist in their current form.
Unlike Brimmer, Vinton Gray Cerf is widely recognized in this field. He is an American computer scientist who, together with Robert Kahn, developed the TCP/IP protocols—the foundational communication standards that define the modern internet.
Cerf previously served as chairman of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) and later worked as a senior executive at Google. Since 2010, he has also been involved with the United Nations Broadband Commission for Digital Development, helping expand global internet access.
Robert Kahn is another major figure who, alongside Cerf, played a crucial role in shaping the internet. He began working on early network architecture in the early 1970s and was also involved in ARPANET, the precursor to the modern internet.
Cerf himself has emphasized that credit for the internet should not be attributed to a single individual, but rather to a collective effort involving many researchers and engineers.
Much of this history is tied to Stanford University, which played a major role in nurturing pioneers of the digital age. Vinton Cerf studied and worked there during a period when ARPANET was being developed, contributing to early networking software that enabled communication between computers.
Today, TCP/IP technology—developed by Cerf and Kahn—forms the backbone of global digital communication, connecting billions of people worldwide.
Cerf has also expressed concerns about the long-term preservation of digital information. He warns that as software and hardware become obsolete, old files may become unreadable in the future. This could lead future generations to lose access to today’s digital records, potentially creating what he calls a “digital dark age.”
