New Delhi, Dec. 30 -- On the last day of the year 2000, the future looked bright. The world had survived the Y2K bug, and early signs seemed to indicate that the rapid proliferation of internet access points would dramatically benefit society.

We ended the year with optimism, hopeful that the impending digital revolution would democratize knowledge, erode authoritarian regimes and enable global prosperity. We believed we were on the cusp of a period of sustained technological acceleration that we prematurely christened the 'Long Boom.'

Twenty-five years later, it is clear that our optimism was misplaced. Not only did the internet not create a 'Global Village,' it weaponized connectivity, leading to a world divided by the Great Firewall ...