David Farber, dubbed "the Grandfather of the Internet", addressed the technical, policy and societal implications of the Internet at a lecture event organized yesterday in Athens by the Kokkalis Foundation and Athens Information Technology (AIT). Prof. Farber is the Distinguished Career Professor of Computer Science and Public Policy at the School of Computer Science of Carnegie Mellon University. He has formerly served as Chief Technologist at the US Federal Communications Commission and as US Presidential Advisor, and in 1996 was awarded the John Scott Award for Contributions to Humanity. Prof. Farber is visiting Greece representing the American Carnegie Mellon University which has an exclusive pan-European cooperation with Athens Information Technology. "Ancient and Modern Greece have given the world many scientists who have made important contributions to mankind", said Prof. Farber. "Visiting AIT and the INTRACOM HOLDINGS Group, I was impressed and I realize that your country has a prominent future in innovative technologies and scientific research". With a 45-year career in networking, starting at Bell Labs and then at Carnegie Mellon, David Farber offered his expertise and his personal perspective on the impact that networking has had on the world and its citizens - not all of which is positive, he stated. In particular, Farber examined the trade-offs between interconnections, privacy, government security and individual freedom and commented on the current chaos, such as spam and other nasty "Internet pests". Referring to the currently ongoing debate regarding network neutrality, David Farber expressed reservations about government regulation arguing that it could stifle Web advances and could lead to unintended restrictions on the use of the Internet. Farber went on to argue that there are plenty of mechanisms to protect against abuse by broadband providers and that whatever legislation is introduced ought to be clear and precise so as to avoid unintended consequences. The lecture event was attended by a high profile audience, including representatives of the Greek government and politicians, business leaders, foreign dignitaries, academia, and media representatives from Greece and the region. The lecture was generously sponsored by PC Magazine and "Flash" radio station.
About Kokkalis Foundation
The Kokkalis Foundation was established in 1998 as a non-profit organization in Athens, Greece. It has a broad regional vision and aims to contribute to many areas of public, social, and cultural life in Southeastern and East-Central Europe, by undertaking actions that enrich the human capital in the region and building links between various institutions with similar goals. For more information please visit: http://www.kokkalisfoundation.gr.
About Athens Information Technology (AIT)
Founded in 2001 by INTRACOM Group, AIT is a non-profit centre of excellence in research and post-graduate studies. AIT is the largest private investment in Greece in research and education. AIT has exclusive pan-European cooperation with the American Carnegie Mellon University and also collaborates with Harvard University and the Kokkalis Foundation on executive training programs. Until today, ΑΙΤ has offered more than 250 scholarships to students from 21 countries. For more information please visit: http://www.ait.gr.