(EU) Explorations in Next Generation Internet emerging research opportunities, technOlogies and methods.

Project Information

EU Engineroom

Grant agreement ID: 780643

DOI

10.3030/780643

Project closed

EC signature date 6 October 2017

Start date 1 October 2017

End date 31 March 2019

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Total cost

€ 692 375,00

EU contribution

€ 692 375,00

Coordinated by

NESTA
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EU Engineroom ((EU) Explorations in Next Generation Internet emerging research opportunities, technOlogies and methods.)

Reporting period: 2017-10-01 to 2019-03-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The internet is indubitably one of the most important and transformative innovations of the past few decades - the influence of the now ubiquitous technology permeating the very fabric of our societies and economies. But while the rapid changes facilitated by the internet have brought much good, it is becoming increasingly clear that the digitisation of our lives also has many downsides and challenges we are still ill-equipped to address.

The centralisation of power over the internet’s infrastructure, business models and virtual spaces, into the hands of just a handful of dominant tech companies is a source of growing concern, especially as the core values of these tech giants often do not necessarily align with those of the European public. This is why, as European internet users, we find ourselves increasingly out of options, having to rely either on the technologies and narratives of big tech companies more interested in our data than our rights as users, or solutions built in countries that do not value privacy and freedom from the government’s prying eyes in the same way we do.

But things need not be this way. The NGI initiative is an important opportunity to radically rethink the way the internet works today, involving voices from across Europe (and beyond) to help us develop a vision for what an internet that embodies the values Europe holds dear, such as openness, inclusivity, transparency, privacy and cooperation, should look like.

The NGI is not just about thinking about what a better future could look like, but also about actually building the alternatives that could get us there. We are at a crossroads, with rapidly evolving technologies like artificial intelligence expected to radically reshape our societies, and growing geopolitical tensions threatening to rewrite the rules governing the internet itself. Alternatives and more human-focused narratives are needed more than ever.

Engineroom was one of three parallel projects under the NGI umbrella, which together will help set the agenda for future phases of the initiative and bring together an ecosystem of key stakeholders and voices from across Europe. Within this framework, Engineroom’s role was to identify the technologies and emerging dynamics that will most impact on the future internet, and evaluate how their development could lead us towards a more ‘human-centric’ and inclusive future internet.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

As one of the core objectives of the Engineroom project was to identify key emerging dynamics and trends surrounding the internet and related technologies to so help inform the future research agenda of the Next Generation Internet initiatives, we engaged in many mapping exercises, with a particular focus on using novel data science methodologies. Insights from these exercises were used for two key purposes: first, to help inform the future direction of the NGI, second to help develop a methodology that could continue to be used into the future.

Delivery of a state-of-the-art data visualisation platform, making insights about emerging technology trends more accessible to a policymaker and general audience.
Effectively helped inform the funding direction and definition of key focus areas of the Next Generation Internet initiative.
Development of a robust and cutting-edge set of methodologies for mapping early signals of change around internet topics, with data and code available to the data science community for easy reuse.
Effective dissemination of new methods, both among expert communities (through the publication of several open access papers, for example) and a more general audience (through educational data sprints, webinars and easy-to-use toolkits).

We combined both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, using big data methods to map emerging dynamics in various sub-communities, and desk research to find out more about the surrounding economic, legal, social and political contexts around key issues.

In-depth mapping of key technology but also social issues, well-read by our stakeholder communities.
Selection of ten key challenges for the future internet, from sustainability to diversity to online identities, which helped bring more cohesion to the NGI initiative as a whole.
Delivery of a state-of-the-art data visualisation platform, making insights about emerging technology trends for a policymaker and general audience.
Publication of four open access papers, elaborating on the methodologies developed as part of the project.

We looked at what the future might hold. This is incredibly important, as we want to make sure we develop plans that stay fit-for-purpose in the future, and anticipate emerging challenges and opportunities before it is too late to take action.

Publication of an award-winning book of radical visions for the future internet, bringing together both leading thinkers in the internet space and emerging thinkers and artists, which generated substantial attention among media and the general public.
Organisation of a series of highly successful events discussing what a more human-centric future internet should look like, bringing together leading names and over 3,000 attendees.
Development of several resources on what the future of several key topics, including an original board game.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Several of the methodologies developed by our consortium have moved the field of data science ahead, and are at the cutting-edge of data analysis. All methods, code and data has been shared with the general public, so helping others use these types of tools to make more effective and future-facing policy and help better map trends and emerging issues surrounding the internet, improving resilience in the ecosystem.

The elements of the methodology help with identifying key topics and areas surrounding the internet and related technologies, and insights gathered as part of these data mapping exercises have helped inform elements of the European Commission’s work programme. Several of the topics we have proposed as part of the process have indeed been turned into new topics for cascaded funds as part of the work programme 2019, showing the impact and use these kinds of methodologies can have.

We have effectively helped establish the Next Generation Internet initiative as an important project for Europe, but also helped increase awareness of the issues we face with the internet today.

We set out a positive and inspiring vision for the future internet, and so also help set the future direction of the Next Generation Internet initiative as a whole.

We published a substantial number of well-read blogs and reports, reflecting on our work or ongoing debates in the internet space, on topics such as the sustainability of the internet, deepfake technology or data methodologies. These pieces generated a substantial amount of traffic (over a 100,000 views at time of writing), and a very positive social media response. Most notable here is our Finding CTRL: Visions for the Future Internet collection, which since its release has already collected 78.000 views. Our work has also been covered by leading media outlets like the BBC, Financial Times and the Next Web.

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