Bill Gates was mocked for believing internet was next big thing in 1995 interview

Bill Gates was once mocked for believing the internet was the next big thing in a resurfaced interview from 1995.

In the retro footage, the tech maestro can be seen talking about the internet when it was still in its early days, as a crowd erupts into a chorus of laughter, ridiculing him for his prediction.

Well, considering you're reading this on the internet right now, it's clear that Gates was the one who had the last laugh.

CBS

The video - now nearly 30 years old - resurfaced when Elon Musk shared it to his Twitter account back in 2021.

The short clip, which was posted by the This Week In Startups TikTok account, sees Jason Calacanis watching the old clip from The David Letterman Show.

In the clip, Gates is asked: "What about this internet thing? Do you know anything about that?" To which he replies: "Sure."

The audience then started to chuckle as Letterman asked: "What the hell is it exactly?"

Gates explained: "Well, it’s become a place where people are publishing information so everybody can have their own homepage, companies are there, the latest information...it’s wild what’s going on. You can send electronic mail to people."

If only he knew what else the internet would go on to do...

CBS

"It is the big new thing," the tech expert claimed.

However, Letterman didn't seem to be convinced and admitted to not fully understanding the whole thing.

Letterman replied: "Yeah, but you know it’s easy to criticise something you don’t fully understand, which is my position here. "But I can remember a couple of months ago, there was, like, a big breakthrough announcement that on the Internet, or on some computer deal, they were going to broadcast a baseball game."

He continued: "You could listen to a baseball game on your computer and I just thought to myself, 'Does radio ring a bell?'"

At this point, the mid-90s audience broke out into laughter as Gates attempted to explain the difference between the two, adding: "It’s not a huge difference, but you can listen to the baseball game whenever you want, too."

CBS

Letterman then asked if it’s 'stored in one of your memory deals', which Gates confirmed was the case.

The TV host then asked: "Do tape recorders ring a bell?" Barely, mate, if I’m being honest.

Billionaire Musk shared the TikTok video on his Twitter account while asking: "Given the almost unimaginable nature of the present, what will the future be?"

And it’s fair to say the clip has certainly got people thinking - sharing the tweet, one person wrote: "I think about this every time. This was just 26 years ago."

Another said: "It stuns me that all of this has happened in less than a lifetime. We went from no internet to this massive connectivity and opportunity in less than a lifetime."

A final Twitter user added: "Never take anybody that doubts human ingenuity seriously. Human beings can do anything."

Topics: Bill Gates, Technology, Weird

Rhiannon Ingle

Rhiannon Ingle is a Journalist at LADbible Group. She graduated from the University of Manchester in 2021 in English Literature. Alongside her studies, she was the Lifestyle Editor of The Mancunian, the largest student newspaper in the United Kingdom. Her favourite topics to write about include sex and relationships, bizarre lifestyle trends and all things travel.