Tim Berners-Lee, who opened the internet era by designing the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989, is once again asking about the future of the web. His new book, "Tim Berners-Lee, This Is for Everyone," is a work of insight that traces how to restore a human-centered digital order in an age dominated by generative artificial intelligence (AI) and Big Tech platforms.
The author combined hypertext with the internet to create a web environment where anyone can freely connect and share information, and he did not even patent his invention. His belief was that the web should not be the property of any particular corporation or power but rather a public good for everyone. That is why the early internet established itself as a symbol of information democratization, openness, and freedom.
Today, however, the web has drifted far from the ideal he envisioned. Algorithms amplify and reproduce stimulation and outrage to capture human attention and emotion, while giant platform companies have built enormous wealth and power by monopolizing personal data. Users have been reduced to consumers of services and, at the same time, data products traded in the advertising market. The book diagnoses the current internet not as a space of freedom and collaboration, but as "an ecosystem of surveillance and monopoly."
The problem has grown even more serious with the full-scale arrival of the generative AI era. AI evolves by learning vast amounts of data, including human search histories and consumption patterns, yet individuals have no control over that data. The risk that information accumulated by platforms could be exploited for political incitement or manipulation of public opinion has also grown. The author argues that this phenomenon stems from a flaw in the "centralized internet structure" itself, which concentrates data on the servers of a few platform companies and monetizes users' time spent on their services.
What makes the book noteworthy is that it does not stop at mere criticism but offers concrete solutions. The alternative the author proposes is the "Solid" project. It is a structure in which individuals directly store and manage their own data in a "digital safe," while companies access only the information they need with the user's permission. It is a practical implementation of "data sovereignty" that returns ownership of data from platforms to individuals.
The book takes a step further. If the internet economy until now has been an "attention economy" that generates revenue by capturing human "attention," it must shift toward an "intention economy" that revolves around human purposes and choices, the author argues. The point is that technology should assist users' needs rather than serve as algorithms that addict humans. In the end, what matters is the direction of technology.
What is most striking is the question that runs through the entire book: "Who, after all, should technology exist for?" At the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, Tim Berners-Lee broadcast the sentence "This is for Everyone" to the world. His weighty message — that the web should belong to all citizens rather than to specific companies, and that humans must always remain at the center of technology — is the compass we need most right now. 26,800 won.
