human
Can you explain the historical development of the internet?
assistant
The development of the internet spans a time period of nearly half a century and has transformed the way people communicate and access information. The very first iteration of the internet, ARPANET, began in 1969 as a project supported by the US military with the intention of developing a computer communications network. The system was designed to provide opportunities for information-sharing and collaboration between researchers and government agencies. In the late 1970s, the US National Science Foundation developed the Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to link computers together, creating an interconnected network. This provided a way to allow any two computers to connect and to exchange information regardless of their geographic location. After this point, the internet began to expand and by the early 1990s, universities, businesses, and commercial service providers had joined the network. This period of growth saw the invention of email, the World Wide Web and the development of powerful web software, such as web browsers and JavaScript. During the 21st century, the internet has continued to develop and evolve, giving rise to powerful services like video streaming and online shopping and becoming an integral part of the modern world.