If you’re a long-time internet user, you’ve probably noticed that the World Wide Web is getting really weird right now. AI-generated images, content derived from tragedies, and TikTok’s many, many weird trends — it seems to even the most casual internet observer that the network is moving away from the global connectivity it originally promised and toward something more niche, Isolation, of course, is also weird.
Seeing this, you may be thinking, is the network good? That’s the question Wednesday’s panel at SXSW tried to answer. Led by Kerrie Finch, GroupMe, a trio of Brandingmag’s Flavia Barbat, The Futur’s Chris Do and WeTransfer’s Holly Fraser, gave their thoughts on the subject.
“I don’t know if ‘broken’ is really the word, but the internet is not good,” Barbat declared at the start of his speech. She went on to detail how social media is flooded with shitty content and how, in general, the web as a whole is “quantity over quality.”
Barbat also anticipates those who believe artificial intelligence is to blame for current Internet problems.
“It’s not because of artificial intelligence,” she said. “AI simply mirrors those behaviors we have adopted over time and only exacerbates them.”
The core tension, the group said, is that the Internet offers a wide range of content, with Do noting that “it is one of the most democratic places where content exists.” However, any place with such low barriers to entry is prone to overcrowding – though The internet isn’t as crowded as it might seem, but it’s already flooded with an array of weird content that’s now being used as a backbone for creating additional content.
“While we have amazing content … there is much more content on the internet that involves extremism or hate speech,” Fraser said. Not just AI, but human creators are building on top of this content, changing it along the way.
Barbat cited Mr. Beast as an example of a popular creator whose work is straying away from educational content or content that inspires personal growth. It was disturbing, she said.
“It’s not because these things are bad,” she explains. “I just felt a little unbalanced.”
Given this, the panel agreed that the skills of the future will be categorized across a wide range of job options and organized into unique approaches, although there was disagreement within the group over the role of AI in this regard.
Regardless, Fraser emphasized that the future will be defined by “intentional creation.”
*First published: March 13, 2024 at 5:30 pm CT
Braden Bell
Braden Bjella is a culture writer. His work can be found on Mixmag, Electronic Beats, Schon! Magazines etc.
