The Death of the Internet: Reasons for the Terrifying Future and Possible Solutions.
We are immersed in a gradually degrading echo chamber, marked by artificial intelligence, advertising, and the pursuit of profit.
The current state of the Internet is concerning, facing a series of social problems rather than just technological ones. Misinformation is rampant, and advertising infiltrates every corner of the web. Furthermore, the influence of automated and politicized bots is evident on social media platforms, where content is filtered through algorithms designed to maximize engagement. In this context, changes on the web do not seem to be positive.
Looking back about two decades, the experience of the "World Wide Web" was markedly different. Social platforms, digital communities, and access to knowledge and shopping offered a distinct, almost magical feeling. Companies like Spotify, Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, and Uber revolutionized the market and attracted a large number of users with innovative features and appealing prices.
However, over time, those benefits have diminished in quality and value for the average user, as these companies have prioritized increasing their profit margins over investing in their customer base. This phenomenon is common among companies that go public, where stocks, investors, and boards of directors tend to focus on maximizing profits rather than preserving the ideals that founded them.
The situation in the scientific realm is also in decline. Educational tools and access to information have been compromised. Much of the knowledge circulating today has been muddled with superficial content from platforms like TikTok and YouTube, where anyone can spread misinformation in short 60-second clips. The challenge lies in discerning between what is true and what is false in a data-saturated environment.
The use of algorithms on social media has led to the creation of echo chambers, where content is selected based on preferences and behaviors, rather than offering a chronological timeline of those followed. This approach reduces the diversity of opinions and hampers debate, aligning users into homogeneous groups that reinforce extreme beliefs, thereby hindering the evolution of their viewpoints.
The current situation is also reflected in the proliferation of services that attempt to counteract this misinformation. Solutions like Ground News, fact-checking on social media, and Community Notes work to provide a more balanced view of political events and challenge false information. However, it is clear that the pandemic, elections, and global conflicts have underscored the problem, making the growing influence of polarized narratives evident.
Despite these challenges, there is still hope. The number of positive achievements brought by the web since its inception outweighs, in many respects, the negatives. Scientific innovations, discoveries, and the organization of humanitarian aid are just a few of the contributions that often go unnoticed. To improve the situation, a collective effort is needed to establish standards and foster digital literacy for all ages, empowering people to identify and question the information they consume.
Creating a robust educational framework for learning to navigate the digital world is crucial and should not be a simple task. While facing these challenges is daunting, we have overcome technological crises before, and we can do so again in this new digital era.
