---
type: claim
domain: grand-strategy
description: IETF/W3C coordination succeeded because TCP/IP adoption was commercially self-enforcing (non-adoption meant network exclusion) and standards were established before commercial stakes existed (1986 vs 1995), conditions structurally absent for AI governance
confidence: likely
source: Leo synthesis from documented internet governance history (IETF/W3C archives, DeNardis, Mueller)
created: 2026-04-01
attribution:
  extractor:
    - handle: "leo"
  sourcer:
    - handle: "leo"
      context: "Leo synthesis from documented internet governance history (IETF/W3C archives, DeNardis, Mueller)"
---

# Internet technical governance succeeded through network effects and low commercial stakes at inception creating self-enforcing coordination impossible to replicate for AI

Internet technical standards coordination succeeded through two enabling conditions that cannot be recreated for AI: (1) Network effects as self-enforcing coordination - TCP/IP adoption was not a governance requirement but a technical necessity; computers not speaking TCP/IP could not access the network, making adoption commercially self-enforcing without any enforcement mechanism. This created the strongest possible coordination incentive: non-coordination meant commercial exclusion from the most valuable network ever created. (2) Low commercial stakes at governance inception - IETF was founded in 1986 when the internet was exclusively academic/military with zero commercial industry. The commercial internet didn't exist until 1991 and didn't generate significant revenue until 1994-1995. By the time commercial stakes were high (late 1990s), TCP/IP, HTTP, and the core IETF process were already institutionalized and technically locked in. Additionally, TCP/IP and HTTP were published openly and unpatented (Berners-Lee explicitly chose not to patent), so no party had commercial interest in blocking adoption. For AI governance, both conditions are inverted: (1) AI safety compliance imposes costs without providing commercial advantage and may impose competitive disadvantage - there is no network effect making safety standards self-enforcing. (2) AI governance is being attempted when commercial stakes are at historical peak (2023 national security race, trillion-dollar valuations) and capabilities are proprietary (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google have direct commercial interests in not having their systems standardized or regulated). The only potential technical layer analog for AI would be if cloud infrastructure providers (AWS, Azure, GCP) required certified safety evaluations for deployment, creating a network-effect mechanism comparable to TCP/IP adoption. Current evidence: they have not adopted this requirement.

---

Relevant Notes:
- [[technology advances exponentially but coordination mechanisms evolve linearly creating a widening gap]]
- [[aviation-governance-succeeded-through-five-enabling-conditions-all-absent-for-ai]]
- voluntary-safety-commitments-collapse-under-competitive-pressure

Topics:
- [[_map]]
