The multibillion-dollar advertising model that underpins the internet economy could collapse due to the rise of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and so-called large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT. Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web (WWW) system on which the internet is based, warned of this at an AI conference organized by the Financial Times.
Berners-Lee warns: LLMs could threaten the web’s advertising model
“If all web pages are read only by LLM, then people will request data from LLM, and it will only provide them with the result—the entire advertising model of the web will begin to collapse,” Berners-Lee said. According to him, this could collapse the decades-old infrastructure based on advertising revenue that has enabled technology companies Google and Meta to grow into trillion-dollar corporations.
“A large part of the web depends on advertising. But advertising is based on the fact that people read the pages. If we all assume that a person is reading the page, but in reality only a language model is reading it, we have a problem,” said Berners-Lee.
AI threatens Google’s dominant position
According to the FT, Google is facing a threat to its dominant position in internet search for the first time in a generation following the launch of the AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT in 2022. The company responded by launching a so-called AI mode, which offers users conversational responses generated by chatbots instead of the classic list of links. However, this approach further reduces website traffic.
According to Mozilla Chairman Mark Surman, the advertising model of internet search is at a potential crossroads. He also called for the current crisis to be used to strengthen privacy and user control. “This is an opportunity to create models that are more respectful of privacy and empower users,” he said.
However, according to Surman, the current model will not disappear immediately and will have a “long half-life.” Google’s parent company, Alphabet, announced record quarterly revenues exceeding $100 billion, with cloud services and advertising revenues showing steady growth.
Source: Reuters
