This talk will explore the motivations for and design of the Internet and the consequences of these designs. The Internet has become a major element of communications infrastructure since its original design in 1973 and its continued spread throughout the societies of our planet. There are many challenges posed by the continued application of the Internet to so many new uses. Safety, Security and Privacy are among these challenges especially as the so-called "Internet of Things" continues to evolve. The increased digitization of our information poses a different challenge: the preservation of digital content for hundreds to thousands of years. Might we be facing a Digital Dark Age?