INTERVIEW WITH

Audiology Today discusses technology, hearing aids, cochlear implants, and more, with Dr. Cerf and his wife, Sigrid.

It seems as though everyone wants to take credit for creating the Internet; in reality, although its development certainly depended on the efforts of a small army, the origins trace back to a small group of computer scientists headed by Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf, who designed the TCP/IP protocol suite on which Internet communications are based. Cooperating with others, Cerf and Kahn also fostered the creation of the Internet Society; Cerf served as its founding president. Dr. Cerf is recognized as one of the “Fathers of the Internet,” and his contributions have been recognized repeatedly, with many honorary degrees and awards that include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, National Medal of Technology, and Turing Award. As vice president of MCI Digital Information Services from 1982 to 1986, Dr. Cerf engineered the first commercial e-mail service to be connected to the Internet. In his current role with Google, he has become well known for his predictions on the impact of technology on society, including artificial intelligence, space exploration, environmentalism, and the television industry. Audiology Today was able to “surf” the Web, among other topics, during a recent interview with Vinton Cerf and his wife, Sigrid.