Internet pioneer to address students over data concerns
A PIONEER of the internet will address Scottish students today on the impending loss of digital data as the web continues to evolve over the coming years.
Dr Vint Cerf, known for his work on first developing the now monumental worldwide communications forum, will explain the need for “digital vellum” during a lecture at St Andrews University.
The 71-year-old, will speak of a time, some way in the future, when our current technology will be obsolete and all the data amassed during the digital age c ou ld f ac e annihilation.
Under the title Digital Dark Age? Digital Vellum, Dr Cerf will argue that unless we establish a regime for preserving digital content on long-lived media, or transfer to new media, and capture application and operating system software as well as machine hardware emulation capability, we are destined to lose access to digital content over time.
His talk is the highlight of the special event The Internet @ 100, hosted and organised by the School of Computer Science which features talks throughout the day by researchers.
Dr Cerf, who is also a vice-president at Google, will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of St Andrews on Wednesday.
The organiser of the event Professor Saleem Bhatti said: “We are delighted to be holding this special event.”