The interview
And now, PalmPower interviews Al Gore:

Gewirtz: You're reputed to be an active Palm computer user. What do you use your device for?

Gore: I use the Internet and my PDA everyday and for everything. I've purchased books and Christmas gifts online. On my Web site (at http://www.algore.com), anyone can subscribe to receive campaign updates on their PDA. I am committed to using the Internet in my campaign to make this a truly interactive campaign--the very first in history.

Gewirtz: As an Internet publisher, I've got to ask this question. What's the real story behind the "invented the Internet" thing?

Gore: I would have to say that my biggest mistake was my choice of words when I claimed to have taken the lead in Congress for creating the Internet. I am proud of what I did in that area. I did hold hearings, secure money, talk about the idea of an information superhighway, and take the initiative in the Congress to provide funding for the people who later on created what became the Internet.

Gewirtz: What's your vision for the future of the Internet in American government and society?

Gore: I think the Internet is important to our economy and our society for at least three reasons.

First, the Internet has become an engine of growth for the U.S. economy. In the last three years, information technology has accounted for a third of U.S. economic growth. It is generating jobs that pay almost 80 percent more than the average private sector wage. Electronic commerce is growing at an incredible rate and could exceed $1.5 trillion by the year 2003 in the U.S. alone. Increasingly, all firms are using the Internet to increase their productivity, slash the time required to develop new products, and experiment with new business models.

Second, the Internet has the potential to improve our quality of life. Americans are using the Internet to improve the way we educate our children, expand access to high-quality health care in under-served rural communities, and gain the skills they need to compete for high-wage jobs using distance learning.

Finally, the Internet is triggering the biggest change in human communications since the development of the printing press. Unlike traditional communications media, the Internet allows people to be both producers as well as consumers of information and is enabling the formation of communities based on shared interest as opposed to geography.

Gewirtz: You have the opportunity to reach millions of influential, online readers through this interview in PalmPower. Is there any message you'd specifically like to give them?

Gore: I believe that one of the strengths of the Internet is its ability to provide unfettered access to a vast universe of information and services. That is why I have argued for and promoted the administration's generally "hands-off" policy when it comes to the Internet. At the same time, just as the government had a role in technology that underlies the Internet, I believe the federal government must continue to invest in the long-term research that can ensure that innovation continues. Federal investments in research, including those I sponsored as a member of Congress, helped to make the Internet what it is today.