In 1989, the internet was old, but it looked nothing like it does today. The internet we use today owes much of its look and feel to Sir Tim Berners-Lee and his creation, the World Wide Web. The launch of the Internet can be traced back to an article by Berners-Lee 35 years ago. Information Management: A Proposal.
Berners-Lee did not set out to change the world. He simply wanted to create an easy way to share information at the popular European Nuclear Research Organization CERN. His solution was a web-distributed hypertext system. We know it as the internet.
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It took several years to go from an idea on paper to a working system. Until 1993, the Internet was a persistent problem. when he was the first person to write a popular access to the internetThere were only two web servers available.
Until I wrote the book Within the World Wide Web In 1994, the Internet exploded in popularity. It went from being something that only technologists used to being the basics of today’s internet. Everyone wanted to be on the internet.
As Berners-Lee put it in 2024, the internet is “built on the intention of enabling collaboration, fostering compassion and creating creativity – I call these the 3 Cs. It was supposed to be a tool to empower humanity. The first decade of the web fulfilled that promise—the web decentralized with a long tail of content and options, created smaller, more localized communities, empowered the individual, and delivered enormous value.”
Berners-Lee continued: “In the past decade, the Internet has played a role in eroding these values rather than embodying them.” He attributes this to “the dysfunction caused by the dominance of the vested interests of a few corporations on the web.”
You can see for yourself. In the early days of the Internet, numerous new companies emerged in the fertile land of the Internet. Today, both the internet and the stock market are dominated by Meta (Facebook), Amazon, Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet (Google) – aka “MAMAA”. You can also trade the old FAANG — Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google for the new FAANG — Facebook, Amazon, Apple, NVIDIA and Google. No matter how you cut it, it’s an internet economy owned by big powers, not small startups.
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On the 30th anniversary of his creation, Berners-Lee admitted that the internet has become “a public squarelibrary, doctor’s office, shop, school, design studio, office, cinema, bank, etc.” to those who spread hatred and facilitate the commission of all kinds of crimes.” The ugly side of the Internet can easily be seen with a quick glance at social networks like X, ex-Twitter, Reddit, and Nextdoor.
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) hasn’t helped. Indeed, Berners-Lee thinks AI is making things worse. “The rapid development of AI has exacerbated these concerns, proving that the problems of the Internet are not isolated, but deeply intertwined with emerging technologies.”
However, Berners-Lee hopes for the best. “It would be defeatist and unimaginative to think that the web as we know it won’t change for the better in the next 30 years.”
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How? He mentions two problems:
The first is the degree of concentration of power, which contrasts with the decentralized spirit I originally envisioned. This has fragmented the internet, fighting to keep users locked onto one platform in order to optimize profits through passive observation of content. This exploitative business model is especially acute in this year of elections that could unleash political turmoil. Complicating this issue is the second, personalized data marketplace that exploits people’s time and data by creating deep profiles that allow targeted advertising and ultimately control over the information people are fed.
But what can we do about it? Berners-Lee’s suggestion: “We need to break down information silos to foster collaboration, create market conditions where diverse options flourish to fuel creativity, and move away from polarizing content to an environment shaped by diverse voices and perspectives that foster empathy and understanding.”
Specifically, this can be done by adopting a new paradigm that prioritizes individuals over business models. This is not just ideal; is already becoming a reality. Technologies that serve and empower us all, such as the new model social networks Bluesky and Mastodon, are not fed by advertising and business communication, but still create communities. GitHub provides online collaboration tools and podcasts that contribute to community knowledge.
“It is time to act and embrace this transformative potential,” Berners-Lee concluded.
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Internet reform is another part of the answer Solid Protocol. This specification gives everyone their own personal online data store (POD). “With Solid,” explained Berners-Lee, “individuals decide how their data is managed, used and shared. This approach has already started to take root, as seen in Flanders, where every citizen has their own POD.” The name of the game with PODs is to put us, not corporations, in control of our personal data.
Solid is supported by the Berners-Lee Company, to break. Under his leadership, the plan is to ensure that Solid introduces identity management, access control and universal data standards to the internet. It will separate data from corporate managed applications so that data is organized and managed around individuals.
He knows that’s easier said than done. “This requires support from the people who are leading the reforms, from researchers to inventors to advocates. We must expand and promote these positive use cases and work to change the collective mindset of global citizens. Web Foundation has supported and will continue to accelerate this emerging system and the people behind it. However, there is an urgent need for others to do the same, support emerging morally courageous leadership, collectivize solutions, and transform an online world dictated by profit into one dictated by the needs of humanity.”
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Can techno-idealism become a reality? I have my doubts, but we can try. Berners-Lee aspires to it. He changed the world once and maybe together we can change it for good again.