HyperNetwork conference report held at Oita Japan part 1 of 2

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

From:  Max Morris (MIT Japan Program)
       Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd.
       Kawasaki, Japan
       <mgmorris () flab fujitsu co jp>
Date:  March 14, 1994
Re:    Report on HyperNetwork Conference '94, Beppu Bay Ver: 1.1
       (revised for external release)


* PLEASE NOTE !
-->  The proceedings of this conference, in mostly Japanese but
-->  also English, are available online. Please contact me for
-->  access information.


1. Summary


   In this memo I review the HyperNetwork Conference '94 held at Beppu
Bay, Oita, during March 3-4. First, I offer an overview of what I feel
emerged as the conference themes. Next, I relate liberally paraphrased
summaries of most of the primary presentations that I have derived from
notes I took and from my own observations. (I take credit and fault for
any misunderstandings I might initiate or propagate in these summaries.)
I conclude with some interpretations of the conference and some
recommendations.


   This memo is a version of an internal report prepared for Fujitsu
Laboratories Ltd. that has been modified for general release. It does
not necessarily reflect the view of Fujitsu or MIT, and any comments
concerning it should be directed towards me directly.


2. Overview


   The HyperNetwork Conference '94 was held at Beppu Bay, Oita, during
March 3-4. The now-annual HyperNetwork conference was sponsored by the
Oita Prefecture Government, NTT, NTT Data Communications, NEC, Fujitsu,
New COARA, and the Institute for HyperNetwork Society (IHNS). IHNS
largely coordinated the conference; here is brief a description of them
from their informational pamphlet: "In March 1993, the Institute for
HyperNetwork Society was established in Oita Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan
[with additional offices in Tokyo]. Supported by the Oita prefectural
government, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), the
Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), and a number of leading
Japanese corporations, the Institute will examine the global impact of
computer-based communication media on a wide range of social, economic,
cultural, and technical issues. Research will attempt to grasp the
landscape of the new information-oriented civilization."


   There were about 200 participants at the conference. Attendance was
primarily by Japanese, though several of the guest speakers were foreign
(five from the U.S., one from Singapore, and one from South Korea) and a
few of the participants were resident foreigners (about 10, including
myself). The format was unusually free-style. There was always only one
session, so participants were always together, and while sessions
usually went uninterrupted, questions and comments from the participants
were common. The first-day sessions ran well into the early morning
hours, where a sense of camaraderie emerged among participants. By the
end, neck ties were uncommon and a sense of enthusiasm was in the air.


   In my view, the conference was unified in its recognition that beyond
expanding the network substrate, defining and developing network
services is critical in making progress in building the Japanese
Infobahn. With respect to the themes of the conference, I think three
emerged: one talking about top-down approaches, one talking about
bottom-up approaches, and one talking about users' needs and uses. I
would like to emphasize that I do not feel these themes are as starkly
exclusive of each other as my overview of each might imply: many
speakers combined elements from all three themes in their presentations.
Nonetheless, though speakers may have drawn subtle distinctions between
these themes, I find them to differ substantially. So, I consider each
separtely.


   The theme about top-down approaches was largely about the ideas of
building a Japanese national information infrastructure, with an
emphasis on national and global perspectives. Proponents argued that
such an approach flowed naturally from current efforts. They further
argued that such an approach is being spurred on by the announcement of
the U.S. NII and the current frenzy of U.S. government activity about
the Infobahn. Indeed, along this line of thinking, the NII initiative
was put forward as a convenient impetus to have Japanese organizations
work even more diligently and carefully together to build the Japanese
Infobahn, so that the nation is not left behind. (As noted below in the
next theme, though, a contrary viewpoint about the the nature of the NII
was also presented.) Several initiatives that are already being
developed within a framework of multimedia delivery and the perceived
information needs of the citizenry were presented. Coordinating the
efforts of industry and government was emphasized. This viewpoint was
typefied by the initiative of NTT and the MPT to deliver fiber to every
home by 2015, coupled with the company's call for some competition
against itself in the marketplace.


   The second viewpoint, the bottom-up approach, was developed primarily
by the foreign attendees, but was also stressed in talks by several
others. These speakers talked about their ideas and experiences
regarding building communities and businesses with networking and
computing technologies. Many argued that because the U.S.
telecommunications market has been relatively unregulated for so long,
the growth of the Infobahn in the U.S. is now largely being driven and
controlled by competitive market forces. Even though through the NII and
related initiatives the government is attempting to again craft a role
for itself, the ability of the government to regain control is highly
doubtful: it was viewed that the role of the NII will be mainly to act
as a market referee, to ensure that uncompetitive practices do not arise
as the market expands at its currently-furious pace. The aspects of
community building and the need for a bottom-up approach were stressed
as the critical means for assessing the needs of the market in terms of
both technologies and services, and as necessary for avoiding failures
common with large-scale market-planning. Also a part of this theme,
protection of the civil rights of Cyberspace was stressed as a necessity
for the development of successful online communities, and thus markets.
Speakers who addressed this theme usually attempted to reconcile the
other two themes that emerged by recommending that regulatory efforts in
Japan be focused away from grand plans and be focused rather towards
encouraging the development of small, community networks.


   The third theme to emerge was one about the actual uses and needs of
consumers, as typefied by Oita residents. Mainly, users of the New COARA
system -- a community-based, networked computing system -- presented
testimonials about their experiences. But others who are engaged in
business and small markets from other parts of Japan also presented
their views. (The latter not always as speakers -- much of this comment
came in the course of audience questions.) The dominant point of this
theme was the lack of adequate and cheaply-priced connectivity. Indeed,
one gentleman even was so bold as to scold the industry and government
representatives present over the poor state of the Infobahn. But some
success stories were presented. The experiments with New COARA and the
use of other BBS systems (one by a group of university staff and
students in Tohoku [northeastern Japan], another a professional
association in Gumma prefecture [just north of Tokyo]) showed that small
electronic communities are emerging and that their users are coming to
depend on connectivity for their daily activities -- be it business,
entertainment, or simply community awareness. Governor Hiramatsu of Oita
spoke fervently about the development of the Infobahn in his prefecture
and about the increasing connectivity his prefecture and other,
neighboring prefectures (such as those on Shikoku) are trying to
achieve. Gov. Hiramatsu envisions his prefecture highly connected and
"wired for business" very soon in the future, despite national-
government regulations or government slowness.


   Overall, I believe a clear view of the state of developing the
Infobahn in Japan emerged through a very healthy if sometimes subtle
debate. Though the state of the Infobahn in Japan is behind that in
other countries, especially the U.S., the conference showed that there
is a ferment of activity towards making progress -- and that in order to
catch up, some government action, in coorperation with industry, is
needed. In my view, the debate was over what role the government should
play: should there be just a few, tightly-controlled, Oita-like efforts,
that will scale at a deliberate and managed pace onto the national level
through industry coordination and government regulation? Or should
deregulation come right away, so that there might be very many Oita-like
efforts, resulting in many emerging systems left to fight it out in the
market as they try to combine on their own into a national system? As a
result of the conference, I believe decision-makers are left with some
valuable information to aid them in grappling with this key question.




3.   Selected Presentation Summaries


Please remember, these are liberal summaries, intended to convey the
general theme of the presentation. Though I have tried to be accurate, I
apologize for whatever misunderstanding there may be. Please refer to
the proceedings for more accurate information.


3.1. Fumio Watanabe, President of IHNS


We are here to talk about the challenges and issues we face regarding
telecommunications going into the 21st century. Unfortunately, Japan
lags behind in this area. However, work is being done, and this
conference brings together those parties who are at the forefront of
these efforts. So let us work together to exchange views on where and
how we can go from here.


3.2. Koji Sugiue, Director, Information Processing Systems
     Development Division, MITI


There are currently significant changes taking place in the industries
of telecommunications and information technology. The idea of a new
social infrastructure is something that is emerging, and one of the
reasons for this is the recognition that we need to promote intellectual
activity among the citizenry. Our view is that the development of a
networking infrastructure is necessary for achieving this.


We have a sense of crisis about the current state of the information
infrastructure. Japan has just started to deal with this, to think about
this. The efforts of the U.S. with the NII have stimulated this round of
thinking. There are many factors. The pace of technology development is
quite fast. A new industry, of services, is emerging. The issues of
liberal and open systems design are significant. I hope the government
will help come up with a structure for managing this.


The MPT has been promoting this development. MITI has been evaluating
its commitment to such efforts as well. Together, we need to develop an
approach to all that's happening. There are projects that are going on,
and many of these will be discussed here at the conference.


3.3. Yoshiyuuki Takeda, Director, Regional Communication
     Promotion, MPT


I'm glad to have people here from all over the nation and from abroad as
well. This is third conference we've held, so it's quite exciting that
our efforts are proving successful. There are several points I'd like to
make.


First, we should reflect on Prime Minister Hosokawa's thinking about
"new social capital." In many ways, with respect to information and
networking technology, this is similiar to the U.S. and VP Gore's ideas
with the Information Superhighway.


Next, let's think about what the NII actually is meant to be. What will
be on the Infobahn once it's constructed? We shouldn't be concerned with
just building it, but also what will move on it. In terms of software
and such things, perhaps a more appropriate metaphor would be a
"Visional Information Infrastructure." For certainly, such things
related to the mind as education and multimedia will be the traffic of
the Infobahn. The MPT, MITI, and NTT then have this interest, and a
request to other companies and organizations: how will the Infobahn be
developed, in terms of its market and what will move on it?


Finally, I'd like to talk about local efforts. This conference is here
in Oita because of the pilot projects that are underway here. And here
is a key thought: one of the main issues in building the Infobahn is
human networking. This is best accomplished on the local level. So we
need to "think globally, act locally."


3.4. Morihiko Hiramatsu, Governor, Oita Prefecture


We've been working on getting networking going here in Oita for some
time now. It's good to see all the new projects, tied together through a
master plan. So, we're looking at the how and who of building an
information infrastructure. The government at this point must think
about planning and developing the rules and laws that will actually
implement things. There's a lot of money involved here, so we need to
get going. We usually look at things from the providers' viewpoint, but
this won't work: we need to focus on these issues from the users' side.
That's where the key is.


3.5. Yasuki Hamanao, National Institute of Multimedia Research


We've always wanted agents, things and people to do things for us. And
we may yet get them. Look at the area of voice recognition, which will
be able to let our computer agents respond to us by voice: on our own
terms. For example, think of the fable Snow White, and imagine the
wicked queen and her mirror on the wall. That "agent" was "programmed"
to respond with a standard response, and when it failed, the queen
became quite angry. Was this wrong or right? In any case, it is
instructive about our desires. We have a way of thinking about agents:
the smarter, the better, but we don't want to be disappointed by them.
It's very contradictory.


Here's a key point: the desktop metaphor has moved to the agent
metaphor. The computer has moved from the desk out the door to the rest
of the world. And the Infobahn is a technical solution to the agent
issue.


[A demonstration of various multimedia activities. Also, several clips
from American developments, including speeches by Gore and other
government figure about the NII.]


3.6. Shumpei Kumon, President, IHNS & GLOCOM


[Prof. Kumon's presentation was integrated with a demonstration of
Mosaic. The technical environment at the conference was rich, with
computers online to the Net and connected to various display devices.
For example, as he talked about his speech, Prof. Kumon pulled up a copy
of it from his home page at GLOCOM.]


I wondered to myself yesterday how today would go. Two years ago was
when we started our efforts related to hypernetworking. In between that
time and today, a *lot* has happened. While I think about all the
changes that have taken place, I see certain things. First, the Internet
has globalized. It's not just for research, but for other things, like
Mosaic and notions of Cyberspace. Another thing: two years ago was the
Hakone multimedia conference sponsored by Apple. Then, industry in Japan
(and elsewhere) wasn't really thinking about things like the Net and all
its aspects. In 1992, there was a new U.S. administration, and in 1993,
the next gold rush -- the development of the Net -- was on.


Now, people like the idea of an NII, but what is it, after all? What are
the architectures? Cable? TV? Telephone? Data networks? The point, of
course, is that we are seeing convergence. Our guests Mitch Kapor and
David Farber will have more to say on these things. And certainly, there
is much argument about what the right direction to take is. Another
presentation will be about Smart Valley -- yet another example of where
the debate is leading. In Oita, the IHNS has organized a workshop and a
few other meetings. Next year, Oita's experimental system is set to
begin. So, we too are seeing some debate taking place and being realized
in practice.


Another guest is Howard Rheingold, from the Well and Whole Earth Review
in San Francisco, who has just released a new book called "Virtual
Communities." Rheingold was also at the first Beppu conference. He finds
similarity in the Oita system and his notion of virtual communities.
He'll talk more about his ideas later.


One point I want to raise is the curious nature of the EFF. On one hand,
the EFF has declared war on the U.S. government for its support of the
Clipper cryptographic system. On the other hand, it is working closely
with the government to help define and structure the principles of the
U.S. Infobahn. So, this is a very interesting model of action to
consider.


WIRED magazine is a new and suddenly very popular magazine that is
widely read by people of influence in the industry. Its recent emergence
and success are examples of how things are moving so quickly. We are
very pleased to have the executive editor of WIRED, Kevin Kelly, here to
talk with us.


Some other points I'd like to make. The view that the U.S. is fighting
or is beginning to fight an economic war with us is being supported by
many on both sides of the ocean. The U.S. government is contemplating
sanctions, and Japan is considering how to respond. Certainly, I think
it is important to have good government-to- government relations, but
also, and perhaps more important, there is the need for person-to-person
communications in promoting good relations between the two countries. We
can see already that the Net has been a tool in promoting relations.


Another point is that many think Japan wants to create a closed Net.
This view may be caused by the nation's slow move towards considering
these issues. Nonetheless, the view is *wrong*. Japan *wants* to enter
the Net society. Certainly, it has *no* desire to isolate itself.


COARA was reborn last April, and it is now linked to the Internet.
Personal computerized communication will enter into other realms, as we
develop other ways of using the Net. One thing we must be sure of is
that we must promote *regional* issues. For example, we promoted
conferencing last month with COARA.


The experience has been exciting. I hope we can continue successfully in
our efforts. I mean, not just we as an organization at GLOCOM, but also
efforts that are local, personal, and individual. In other words, many
things are possible -- exercise your imagination!


3.7. Mitch Kapor, Chairman, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)


During the 1992 presidential election campaign, Clinton and Gore put
emphasis on developing the NII. They gave the impression that the
government would build the system. This worried industry considerably.
After the election, the government made clear that in fact, industry
would build and run the system, though the government would facilitate
and referee, in order to protect the public interest. So, now, with the
change in attitude, the terms "Infobahn" or "Information Superhighway"
are being used more than NII.


The cable and telephone industries have been investing heavily in the
development of the Infobahn. Why are they spending so much money?
Because they believe that, despite the current market reality, that a
major opportunity will exist. There is now a great frenzy of effort,
because no one wants to be left behind as convergence takes place. Thus,
the great number of acquisitions, mergers, partnerships taking place.
But the collapse of the Bell Atlantic and TCI merger indicates that
convergence will take longer than expected.


So, for 1994, there are a few field trials (in Orlando and in Nebraska,
for example) taking place to look at the technology. In fact, the
technology is experimental. It will be years till any of this arrives in
the market. These initial systems offered by inudstry will be hybrids,
intended to *deliver* to the home, but will lack a substantial *return*
path from the home back onto the Infobahn. There will be a return path,
but it will be mainly used for insignificant amounts of control
information to travel along, like information about which button on a
remote control has been pushed.


So, there are big questions. Questions about how to make an interactive