Humans are more connected now than ever before. With the invention of the Internet we have established unprecedented, instantaneous access to (1) each other through social media, texting, and emails; (2) businesses by way of e-commerce; and (3) information through search engines like Google. The world is literally at our fingertips.

However, half the global population is behind on the digital revolution and there is great regional disparity in the availability of affordable Internet. While reports show a growth rate of one million new users a day from 2018-2019, approximately 3 billion people are still not connected.

SpaceX, Softbank, Amazon, Google, Virgin, and Facebook are competing to close the gap and are racing to provide worldwide Internet infrastructure to rural and low-income areas. Harvard Business Review anticipates that within the next 3-5 years, “most of the planet will have some access to reliable, if somewhat expensive, broadband.”

But what are the implications associated with this kind of connectivity? What should businesses and consumers focus on? I believe there are 3 areas that are not getting enough attention.

Expect an Increase in Cyber Crime Rates

The Internet has provided communities great opportunities for economic, academic, and social advancement, but it has also served as a platform for staggering amounts of criminal activity. In 2018, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center cited $7.45 billion in total losses due to Internet-enabled theft, fraud, and exploitation. We should expect this number to rise as an expanded Internet market will increase the number of potential victims as well as the pool of potential criminals. First-time users of Internet devices will not have been trained on the necessary best practices for securing their products and will be more susceptible to cyber-enabled crime.

While new Internet users are obvious targets, their devices are also at risk. Billions of physical devices around the world are now connected to the Internet in order to collect and share data. Colloquially known as the Internet of Things (IoT), this technology has helped businesses optimize internal processes and provided consumers with an incredible amount of utility.  (I, personally, am most excited for the autonomous car revolution.) Despite the benefits, any device connected to the Internet opens itself up to vulnerabilities. A 2019 report by security consulting firm Independent Security Evaluators, shows that security controls put in place by IoT device manufacturers are often insufficient against attacks carried out by remote adversaries. As IoT devices enter these new markets, cyber risk management practices will become even more critical to prevent future breaches and attacks.

Critical Need for “Internet Literacy” Programs

A majority of future Internet consumers are from low-income communities that are not familiar with the products and services associated with the online community. In fact, in 2014 Iris Orriss, Facebook’s head of localization and internationalization, said, “Awareness of the Internet in developing countries is very limited. In fact, for many users, Facebook is the Internet, as it’s often the only accessible application.” Users equating Facebook with the Internet is concerning for a number of reasons, but it ultimately showcases a critical need for education campaigns for first-time Internet users.

Lack of technology comprehension, especially on social media platforms, can produce impactful real-world effects. In recent years, we have seen companies like Facebook struggle with content moderation, especially around organized disinformation campaigns. If tech giants can’t even sort it out, it is impossible to ask a new Internet user to distinguish fact from “fake news.” In an OODA special report, co-founder Bob Gourley outlines the potential impacts from malicious sources of information which can include inciting violence, falsifying reality, and influencing elections.

Recognizing these realities, governments and business should work together to design products and services that accommodate new Internet populations. Users are still entitled to certain privacy and security guarantees, whether they are aware of them are not, and additional actions will need to be taken to ensure users understand the implications of using online applications.

Involve Regional and Cultural Experts in Technology Development

The Harvard Business Review identified how businesses should be preparing for a rise in Internet users, accounting for the differences in economics, geography, language, and demographics. Of note, they state that “communications will need to be driven by local partners who bring both cultural awareness and linguistic skills.” The 3 billion people that will be coming online could be speaking 1 of 7,000 languages. It will not be enough to launch new services in the region, businesses will need to make sure users can understand them. Advancements in artificial intelligence are moving towards computer-generated translations, though the machine translations lack sophistication and do not accommodate the entirety of spoken languages across the world. Coupled with the difficulties in understanding regional syntax, the need for skilled human interpreters will be in high demand.

Additionally, a large portion of the population coming online may be illiterate. Nonetheless, they can still benefit from technology. Smart speaker technologies like Alexa and Google Assistant have become more prevalent in international markets and are able to offer local news clips and suggest regional recipes. Harvard predicts, “While the next billion or so consumers will come online through smartphones, the billion after that are likely to come online through culturally adept smart speakers.”

In sum, the Internet has led to the creation of millions of jobs and stimulated trillions of dollars of economic activity. The future expansion of the global marketplace will be historic and businesses will be presented with unprecedented opportunities. However, we must collectively start identifying and preparing for the implications of an increasingly interconnected world.

What To Do Now?

We recommend any decision-maker who cares about the impact of the future Internet (which really means all of us) should help think through how we ensure the future of this great capability is optimized for people and is as supportive as possible of the continued advancement of humanity. How this translates to your business and life is up to do you, but one great resource we can all tap into is the non-profit foundation called the People Centered Internet.

People-Centered Internet (PCI) is an international coalition people working together to ensure that the Internet continues to improve people’s lives and livelihoods. We learned of the PCI through OODA Network member David Bray, who is their executive director. Read this insightful look into his background in this OODA Member Interview.

The future of our global connectivity is also a key topic we will be addressing at Future Proof on 19 March 2020.