The Next Generation Internet Initiative

Digital transformation is pushing all market sectors to level up their digital capabilities to better serve customers and improve the user experience. The European Commission launched in 2016 the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative as part of the DSM strategy. NGI includes a number of different – but always interrelated – emerging technologies in the following focus areas: artificial intelligence and autonomous machines, blockchains and distributed ledgers, big data, Internet of Things, 5G, cybersecurity and privacy technologies, cloud and edge computing, and open data. As for cooperation in the field of Information and Communications Technology, Europe and the United States should seek a joint framework to expand efforts in new emerging technologies, while preserving common principles around a comprehensive EU–US digital economy dialogue. The NGI Initiative is an important opportunity to radically rethink the way the Internet works today, and more human-focused narratives are needed more than ever.