Notes on a presentation to the Oxford Internet Institute on 15 May 2026 at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford.

I had the pleasure of speaking at a celebration of the first twenty-five years of the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). I gave a talk followed by drinks and a dinner at Balliol College. I was the founding director of the OII when I came to Oxford University as the first Professor of Internet Studies at the University and Professorial Fellow at Balliol College in 2002.

Speaking to OII founders, advisors, faculty, staff, and students was a privilege — all seemed supportive and eager to hear about the early years of the department. The OII is a genuinely wonderful story: the development of a new department at a globally revered collegiate university, now with a brand-new home at the Steven A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities. At the same time, it was important to address the challenges of those early years alongside the challenges of today, when the social and political implications of the internet and related information and communication technologies (ICTs) — such as AI and social media — have never been more contested.

A rising number of contentious issues now surround the technologies the OII studies. Can the department maintain the independence, integrity, and quality of its research in such an emotionally charged climate, one that pervades policy and practice across the globe? This will be a significant challenge — though it is only the latest in a long history of challenges facing social research on ICTs.

To understand the pressures facing the OII today, I looked back to 1974, decades before its founding, when I first encountered the Internet (then ARPANet). Those earlier years marked a departure of Internet studies from much of the academic mainstream — in communication as well as nearly every other field. Following one thread of my research on shifts in power over time, I shared reflections on the challenges this field has faced and the lessons learned along the way — lessons that may be as relevant today as they were in the OII’s early years.

I settled on the title “Power, Independence, and Interdisciplinarity” to capture three enduring priorities: staying focused on big ideas (mine centred on power shifts), preserving the independence of research, and maintaining the OII’s interdisciplinary character while remaining anchored in the social sciences.

The greatest impression from the entire evening, however, was the camaraderie of the students, staff, and faculty. The academic vitality of my colleagues was striking. Throughout my years at the OII, nothing mattered more than the department’s intellectual engagement with its subject and the warmth of its academic culture — and I saw all of that very much alive that evening. I have no doubt the years ahead will continue to go well for the OII.

[Below some photos off Bill Thompson (BBC) and myself, with Kathryn Eccles and Scott Hale, the new Directors of the OII, along with a photo of the huge lecture hall!]