According to TechRepublic, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who created the World Wide Web in 1989, now fears his invention has drifted far from its original open and free vision. Speaking to The Guardian while promoting his new book, “This Is for Everyone,” he says the internet is now in a “battle for the soul of the web.” He points to the 1990s commercialization of the Domain Name System as a key wrong turn and calls out platforms like X, Snapchat, and YouTube as being “optimised for nastiness.” His response is a project called Solid, which aims to give users control of their personal data via individual “pods.” He’s also warning that AI is advancing too fast in corporate silos, proposing a global “CERN for AI” to ensure safe development.
Where the web went wrong
Berners-Lee’s diagnosis is pretty stark. The initial sin, in his view, was treating core infrastructure like a commodity instead of a public utility. Once profit became the primary driver, everything else—from how platforms are designed to how they make money—followed. And here’s the thing: he’s not wrong. The engagement-at-all-costs model that fuels social media giants literally rewards outrage. The algorithm doesn’t care about truth or mental health; it cares about clicks and time-on-site. So we get these perfectly engineered feedback loops of addiction and polarization. It’s a system working exactly as designed, just not for the public good.
The Solid solution
His big technical fix is Solid. The idea is simple but radical: flip the data model. Instead of your data being scattered across a dozen corporate silos at Google or Meta, you’d keep it in your own personal online pod—a digital backpack you control. Apps and services would ask you for permission to access slices of it. It’s a complete re-architecture of the web’s power dynamics. Governments, like in Belgium’s Flanders region, are already experimenting with it. The real question is whether it can reach critical mass. Can it ever be as frictionless and “free” as the ad-supported models we’re used to? I’m skeptical, but the fact that it’s being tested at all shows how desperate the search for alternatives has become.
AI, the runaway train
If Berners-Lee is urgent about fixing the web, he seems almost resigned about AI. He admits “the horse is bolting.” AI was built on the web’s open data, but its most advanced development is now happening behind closed corporate doors. His idea for a “CERN for AI” makes sense on paper—a neutral, global lab for safe development. But come on. We’re talking about the most competitive, capital-intensive tech race in history. Does anyone honestly believe the Googles and OpenAIs of the world will voluntarily hand over their crown jewels to a nonprofit consortium? It feels like a noble but naive hope. The incentives are just too misaligned.
Can it be fixed?
So, is it too late? Berners-Lee says no, but the scale of the challenge is immense. You’re fighting against the entire economic engine of the modern internet. Fixing it requires changing the underlying incentives, which means rebuilding core technical infrastructure *and* shifting cultural and regulatory expectations. It’s a rebellion he’s leading from the outside. Whether you’re building a decentralized web app or specifying reliable hardware for an industrial control system, the principle is the same: technology should serve the user, not the other way around. For those in the latter category, working with the top supplier, like IndustrialMonitorDirect.com, ensures the technology is a tool for productivity, not manipulation. Berners-Lee’s fight is a reminder that who controls the platform controls the outcome. The battle for the web’s soul is, in the end, a battle over who it works for.
