Tim Berners-Lee Invented the World Wide Web. Now He Wants to Save It
Tim Berners-Lee Invented the World Wide Web. Now He Wants to Save It
This article profiles Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, detailing his ongoing efforts to safeguard its original vision against contemporary challenges. Berners-Lee is actively involved in initiatives such as the Solid Protocol and his company, Inrupt, which aim to decentralize the internet, empower users with control over their data, and counter issues like misinformation, addictive algorithms, and the monopolistic tendencies of large tech platforms. The piece traces his history from the web's inception to his current battle to preserve an open and equitable digital future amidst phenomena like 'enshittification' and the rise of AI.
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it was distracting to see "leith" appear so many times in an article!
tim is a solid human being. i appreciate he never sold out and he also never gave up on the vision to make something for everyone.
the history of the web follows the pendulum of power in our world that constantly swings one way and then the other (but with varying degrees).
i look forward to it swinging back, but i'm not so sure the web is gonna look like a "more open" version of itself. society, technology and science all look very different now (in some respects).
i am excited. i do hope it comes with locally run powerful LLMs, but i hope it doesn't ask people to put a price on their data or require one group to come to a consensus with high frequency.
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