...for the first time in human history, each of us today has a voice that we can hear if we choose to use it and if we choose to listen.

In the Allternet age, everything will have an IP address and be part of the digital grid, making the Allternet as fundamental as the surrounding atmosphere. The Allternet will add a digital dimension to our lives, wherein our senses, emotions, and spirituality are expressed and mobilized.

Today, people are already expressing their sentiments, intent, and aspirations, capturing their life logs, and executing transactions online. As more and more data is stored and mined, profoundly influential knowledge and insights can be harnessed to an extent never before conceivable. In the Allternet future, a blended reality will define everyday life. A person may be present in one place in the physical world but in any number of sites in the digital realm at any given time.

Our identity will become a compound of our physical and digital beings. As the limitations of physical boundaries are diminished, people from around the world will enjoy closer and more intimate relationships and shared experiences. It will not be long before people have no firsthand knowledge of life before the internet, and it would be complicated to imagine how real life could have existed without it. Will the Allternet emerge as the great truth liberator and social equalizer, or will it be an ever-tightening noose, encircling and disseminating our society?

When people are connected on such a personal level, they are free to form their views and opinions on what is happening worldwide, diluting the power of controlled media and political propaganda. By the same means, the same technology can be used to violate people’s right to some form of privacy. The National Security Agency (NSA) activities have shown what opportunities the digital world offers for private and governmental snooping entities. An example is a potential ability to listen in on the secret conversations of heads of foreign states. The same technologies that connect us personally and help us make quantum leaps in scientific advances are also making it possible for law enforcement officials to sift through heaps of data to discern alleged or would-be perpetrators. The government is there to protect the interests of the people. It must guarantee, where appropriate, that online communications are secure and do not violate people’s privacy.

This is especially important when considering electronic voting, where integrity and fairness are fundamental. The authentication mechanisms employed must prevent ballot rigging or the threat thereof. This is a genuine threat to the freedom we hold so dear. Many are already questioning what this technology may do to our sense of personal privacy and liberty when it is in the wrong hands. If your child is trackable by you, does this mean that other people will be able to track them as well? We must take extra care to ensure that the governance, control, and authentication we maintain in the digital realm are sacred.

One option would be to instate an open and crowdsourced approach to establishing and maintaining policy, authentication, and measurement frameworks. We must not fall into the trap of the “Big Brother” scenario, in which the few centrally control data, giving them power without transparency or accountability. Those of us living in democracies are confronted with two interconnected realities: 1) our laws must provide us with personal safeguards to preserve our privacy and freedom, and 2) our technological capabilities through global telecommunications provide the means to access personal digital data anytime and anywhere.

Those who control the data will inevitably influence the power. We must ensure a world where a balance is achieved where people can participate while maintaining authenticity, privacy, and ultimate control over what, when, and how their data is shared. Our physical well-being and happiness are deeply entangled with our digital well-being. If they compromised your identity for whatever reason, your physical life would be hugely impacted. If you have ever been a victim of identity theft, you will know exactly what I’m discussing. Suddenly, your credit cards don’t work, your bank account is empty, and they shut you out of your world. I do not limit this to identity theft. A case of mistaken identity can be just as bad or worse. If power is controlled by the few, namely governments and big corporations, you may live in a system where you are guilty until proven innocent. I, therefore, cannot stress how critical it is that we take special care to ensure that our digital identities are secure and that security mechanisms are in place to ensure the individual’s active participation in the authentication process…

We are indeed at a tipping point; the genesis of a new civilization, a new chapter in the life of humanity. We, the people, each one of us individually and collectively, have the power to shape our future, possibly for the first time. The challenging part will be figuring out how to balance privacy and safety, security and profit. Cities are where innovation, money, and people—especially the young early adopters and trendsetters—assemble because it is here that they are most likely to attract and retain talent.

While I am what you might call an eternal optimist, I recognize the duality of technology and its applications. As it undoubtedly tethers us from restrictions in time and space, it can potentially cause an invasion of privacy or allow “Big Brother” to keep tabs on us to an unbearable extent. Or worse, it leads us to a future where we, the people, are merely fuel and processing power for an alternate world. The good news is that with all the knowledge, wisdom, and one-to-one connections we have with each other, now more than ever, we, the people, are in a position to influence our future like we never have before. If for no other reason than that, for the first time in human history, each of us today has a voice that we can hear if we choose to use it and if we choose to listen.

By leveraging the platform Allternet provides, I am convinced that we are finally in a position to lift the economic burden and eradicate hunger and much of the unnecessary suffering in the world. For the first time in our history, we, the people worldwide, can have the means to share, learn, and know one another. I invite you all to join me in redefining our success metrics from short-term returns and quarterly earnings to a value creation-based model.

Profit and impact measure success as we journey to transform suffering into prosperity and wellbeing.