Artificial intelligence researcher Peter E. Hart remembers a time when computer networking was an arcane subject that non-users were still trying to wrap their minds around. In an anecdote sent to The New York Times, he recounts being subjected to an audit of his ARPAnet-linked AI center’s incoming bits — including questions about whether any of the 2.5 billion packets arrived with “corrosion or tarnish.” It’s a tiny, but excellent, piece of early internet history.
‘Did all the packets arrive in good condition?’
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
