1.1: Accessibility
Making the Digital World Accessible to Everyone Other Information:
In the NITRD vision, the IT infrastructure of the future will be everywhere and always available, making possible Anywhere,
Anytime, Affordable Access to Anything by Anyone Authorized (A7). IT capabilities that enable universal participation will
radically democratize the IT domain, so that all can contribute to and share in the resources and benefits of cyberspace.
At the same time, groups of individuals with similar interests (e.g., a research collaboration) can form and dissolve dynamically
to pursue their mutual interests privately and securely as needed. Where we are now: The global Internet points toward the
future with its rapid expansion to encompass the burgeoning technologies of wireless networking. But today’s Internet is not
nearly robust or advanced enough to satisfy the demands of a future in which devices, data, and people at every scale are
interconnected and in constant communication, not just worldwide but across outer space. For example, most people on Earth
still lack access to the Internet; even in the U.S., one-third of the population currently lacks broadband Internet connectivity
at home (lagging 15 other advanced nations), and a majority cites cost and lack of computer skills as key factors. Indeed,
access to the information riches and services of cyberspace today remains limited mainly to people who know how to work keyboard-activated
devices and have the highspeed network connectivity required to experience bandwidth-intensive Internet applications, such
as streaming video and real-time interactivity. (The Administration has announced a National Broadband Plan; its dual aim
is to provide jobs by incentivizing companies to both extend broadband connectivity to rural and underserved communities and
increase U.S. broadband network speeds, which also lag those of many other countries.) Research needs: In addition to fundamental
networking research (see “Evolving and Scaling Socio-Technical Network Infrastructure” below), enabling a more powerful, more
scalable IT infrastructure for the future will require advances across the spectrum of information technologies. For example,
power consumption must be reduced to enable ubiquitous computation. Language barriers will need to be eliminated through instantaneous
language translation. Interoperability issues in data, systems, and software will have to be resolved through agreement on
common standards, protocols, and policy regimes; systems must be designed that can adjust to changing environments and the
needs of individual users; and substantial improvements in end-to-end performance will be required to provide users with seamless
access to resources from their own desktop, laptop, or mobile device. R&D in new materials must be pursued to produce gains
in energy efficiency and miniaturization that can continue driving down per-unit costs of IT devices and services, so the
IT infrastructure can readily expand to include new participants and uses. R&D to enable specification and enforcement of
dynamic security and privacy policies tailored to individuals as well as to organizations will also be a key underpinning
of the A7 environment.
Indicator(s):
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