The internet is in crisis. What was once a beacon of democratized information has become a chaotic, cluttered mess—and it’s only getting worse. By 2026, researchers predict that a staggering 90% of web content will be AI-generated, drowning out quality journalism and flooding our feeds with noise. But here’s where it gets controversial: the very system I helped build—the digital advertising economy—is at the heart of this breakdown. As the founder of AppNexus (acquired by AT&T for $1.6 billion) and former CTO of Right Media, I architected the technology that powered a multibillion-dollar industry. Yet, that same engine is now sputtering, turning users into products and prioritizing data over content quality. And this is the part most people miss: the internet has been here before—on the brink of collapse—only to emerge stronger. From the static pages of Web 1.0 to the chaotic early days of mobile, each transition felt catastrophic until it didn’t. We’re in that awkward phase again, but with a twist: AI is both the problem and the solution. While it’s flooding search results with spam, it’s also the tool we’re using to rebuild. The rise of the “agentic AI economy”—where AI acts as an intelligent intermediary—offers a path forward. But it’s not without controversy. Licensing deals, revenue sharing, and pay-per-crawl models are emerging, but will they stick? AI companies like OpenAI are investing in ad infrastructure, but can they balance sustainability with user trust? Here’s the bold truth: if we don’t act now, the internet could descend into unusable chaos or splinter into a paywalled elite. But there’s hope. Innovations like “agentic advertising”—matching ads to content themes, not personal data—are proof that a better system is possible. The question is: will we choose to build it? What do you think? Is AI the savior or the destroyer of the internet’s promise? Let’s debate in the comments.
