Leaders of Tech Q&A: Bruce Tonkin, auDA

I started using the internet in the early 1980s, before the domain name system (DNS) existed. Back then, there was no DNS to translate domain names, so we manually kept lists of IP addresses and computer names to share information via the internet, much like people keep a list of their contacts on their mobile phones today. It was a very different online experience and certainly wasn’t as quick or seamless as navigating the internet today.

In the 1990’s I was involved in expanding the network between universities in Australia as part of the Research Data Network Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). Since then, the internet has become a vital component of our economy and society, no longer solely used by universities and researchers.

Today, as CEO of auDA, I’m committed to ensuring the .au DNS is stable and secure for the benefit of all Australians. The DNS is critical infrastructure and I feel a strong sense of duty to continue to preserve and strengthen the service, to serve the needs of Australian internet users.

I’m also motivated by technological change. Over my time in the industry, I’ve watched the evolution of email, file transfer (FTP), World Wide Web, search engines, social media and now AI. During any technological change or advancement, I think about how we can ensure the DNS and auDA can remain relevant to new and emerging internet applications.

I am an avid reader of global tech news to learn about the latest technology trends. I look at what's driving economies around the world, how technology and the economy interact and stay across key political events that may impact the online environment.

Throughout the year, I also regularly connect with a large network of leaders and professionals that attend events such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meetings, and stay in regular contact with other country code domain managers, such as CIRA (.ca), Nominet (.uk), InternetNZ (.nz) and SIDN (.nl), as well as various service providers including registry operators and DNS providers. In Australia, I also meet with auDA members, academics, civil society organisations and government officials to discuss the work auDA does and ensure we address issues of importance to the .au community. Conversations with a diverse range of stakeholders is an important way to keep across new developments, discuss emerging challenges and opportunities, and provide fresh insight that informs my work at auDA.

A few key trends stand out.

First, the rise of mobile and voice-activated technology is changing how people interact online – smartwatches and voice assistants mean users aren’t typing domain names into web browsers as often as they once were. AI is also shifting the visibility of domain names. Unlike traditional search engines that display a list of domain names, AI provides responses in natural language, like a friend would. The DNS still works behind the scenes to connect us to information on the internet, but users may not see domain names in the same way as often.

The second area is geopolitical change. A lot of countries are now focused on national concerns. One of the few areas that still relies on and benefits from global cooperation is the internet. The decline in global cooperation and rise in nations seeking sovereign control over digital services is front of mind for auDA as we work to defend the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance.

The third element is society's shifting expectations for the providers of technology and infrastructure. Today, society expects tech companies to have a duty of care to their users to help with issues such as online harm, as well as deliver technical performance. auDA does a lot of work to drive down already low levels of DNS abuse but we continue to look at ways to better protect Australians through a trusted .au.

auDA’s strategic planning began in 2023-24. We consulted with staff, our Board and Advisory Committees as well as experts from a range of sectors and developed auDA’s Future Scenarios Project Report 2024 . The report sets out three plausible future scenarios and challenges us to consider what auDA’s future operating environment could look like in 2044. It’s been a great lens to test our assumptions and stretch our thinking and we’re already seeing elements of the scenarios play out, including the increasing influence of AI, the use of surveillance technology by some governments and the growing influence of large global service providers.

In our strategy development, we also considered enterprise risks and market developments, and feedback from recent stakeholder and member surveys, all of which formed input for a series of workshops with staff and the Board to formulate and challenge ideas at different stages.

From this program of work we developed our Draft Strategy, which is now available for feedback from the community before we finalise the Strategy. As a community-based organisation, understanding and responding to community feedback is an important part of our work.

1. My hope is that when thinking of auDA in the future, they think that: auDA has continued to evolve to meet new requirements from emerging applications, such as AI and voice activated technology
2. auDA is adaptable, resilient and well placed to manage technological and geopolitical change
3. auDA’s leadership in multi-stakeholder internet processes is best practice and contributes to solving societal concerns with the use of digital services.

These tie back to the four pillars of the auDA Draft Strategy – trust, innovation, impact and capability. We're focused on continually improving trust in .au, and in turn, the wider online environment, harnessing innovation to evolve .au and support internet users, boosting our capability to adapt to change, and making an impact for auDA, for internet users and for our community of stakeholders.