The internet is drowning in its own success—and we’re all paying the price. What was once a revolutionary tool for democratizing information has morphed into a chaotic, ad-driven monster, where quality is sacrificed for clicks, and users are the product being sold. But here’s where it gets controversial: the same technology that broke the system might just be the key to fixing it. Let me explain.
If you’ve noticed the internet feels different lately—more cluttered, harder to navigate, and overrun with AI-generated nonsense—you’re not alone. By 2026, experts predict that a staggering 90% of web content will be churned out by AI. Meanwhile, trustworthy journalism hides behind paywalls, while our feeds are flooded with attention-grabbing noise. It’s a far cry from the utopia we were promised.
I know this story intimately because I helped write it. As the founder of AppNexus (sold to AT&T for $1.6 billion) and former CTO of Right Media, I built the technology that powered the digital advertising boom—a multibillion-dollar industry funding everything from global newsrooms to niche blogs. But now, that engine is sputtering. The system I helped create is devouring itself, and I’m determined to be part of the solution.
Here’s the harsh truth: you are the product. Instead of paying for what you consume, the ad-driven model turned your every click, search, and scroll into a commodity auctioned to the highest bidder. Once money followed data instead of quality, real information became an afterthought. The consequences are everywhere: news outlets collapsing, AI-generated garbage clogging platforms like YouTube, and misinformation spreading like wildfire. It feels like the end—but I’ve seen this movie before.
The internet has a habit of breaking, panicking us all, and then emerging stronger than ever. Remember Web 1.0? Static pages and dial-up connections. Then came Web 2.0, with user-generated content and social media—but not before doomsayers claimed it would kill traditional media. Mobile’s early days were a disaster: unreadable websites, intrusive ads, and endless pinch-to-zoom frustration. Yet, here we are, with smartphones as our primary screens, barely recalling the chaos. Each transition felt catastrophic in the moment, but hindsight reveals a pattern of evolution.
And this is the part most people miss: we’re in another one of those awkward phases right now. Our attention is scattered across countless platforms, devices, and channels. We demand more—seamless access, high-quality content, personalization without invasion—but the current infrastructure wasn’t built for this reality. Enter AI, both the problem and the potential solution. Yes, it’s flooding feeds with low-quality content, but it’s also the tool we’re using to reimagine everything: how we work, find information, and consume media.
The so-called “agentic AI economy” is taking shape, where AI acts as an intelligent intermediary, solving problems and reshaping industries. Once the internet’s infrastructure catches up, and the industry rethinks its economics, we’ll emerge stronger. But how? Licensing deals, revenue-sharing models, and even “pay-per-crawl” systems are already emerging to reward publishers for their value. AI giants like OpenAI are investing in ad infrastructure, recognizing that chat engines need sustainable models beyond subscriptions.
Here’s a bold claim: AI-driven advertising could eliminate waste and fraud, starving content farms while rewarding quality publishers. My company, Scope3, is pioneering “agentic advertising,” using AI to match ads to content themes and values—not personal data. Try this experiment: copy a webpage, paste it into ChatGPT, and ask it to generate an ad. Chances are, it’ll outperform the real thing without needing your browsing history. This shifts the focus back to content as the product, not you.
We’re at a turning point. AI will shape the web’s future—that’s inevitable. But how we build that future is up to us. Will we monetize trust, using AI to filter noise and reward fact-based journalism? Or will we let the internet descend into chaos, where quality content is buried behind paywalls most can’t afford? The choice is ours.
The builders who understand this moment—those championing systems that reward quality and trust—will define what’s next. The internet we want is possible, but only if we choose to build it. So, here’s my question to you: What kind of internet do you want to see? Let’s debate it in the comments—because the future of the web depends on it.
