The internet could look entirely different in the coming years.
As AI reshapes communication, remote work replaces offices, and younger generations ditch smart technology, society is entering a new era of digital existence.
The internet has always been celebrated as a facilitator of remote work, international friendships, and access to knowledge. However, it has become transactional in the fight for eyeballs and attention.
Digital spaces are increasingly full of AI-generated posts, comments designed to enrage others or hack algorithms, and swiping rapidly between content that is fighting for user attention. AI agents, which can execute tasks independently, exacerbate these trends and make the internet less human.
Younger generations have pushed back: Millennials have turned to “dumb” phones, and Gen Z is opting for “closed” social media rather than open platforms, for instance, WhatsApp versus Facebook. Meta got the memo: it is cracking down on “unoriginal” content on Instagram, meaning profiles that rely on reposts will be penalised. It highlights how the tech giant is prioritising retention and longevity over engagement metrics.
Social media is at a fork in the road, posing a key question: What does the future of the internet look like? Will it be a social, human internet?
Tech Funding News is partnering with the global work payments platform Native Teams to explore these topics further in the first episode of the series named “Pay Attention Live: Building the Human Internet.” Sign up here.
This session explores how AI, remote work, and shifting user behaviour are reshaping how people connect, collaborate, and build online. It takes place on May 20, at 3 PM CET.
“For me, a human internet is not about being more ‘connected’ in the technical sense – we already are. It’s about whether that connection still feels like it has a person on the other side,” says Aleksandra Mitrevska, Co-founder and Chief Experience Officer of Native Teams.
“It’s slower in the right moments, clearer in communication, and a bit more thoughtful. Interactions don’t feel transactional – they are intentional. And it doesn’t feel like everything is happening through systems, but through people who actually understand the one on the other side of the screen.”
The first “Pay Attention Live: Building the Human Internet” session features Mitrevska herself, who will discuss building trust in a borderless, remote-first world.
She will be joined by Alyx van der Vorm, the founder and CEO of Clyx, who will speak on the neuroscience of friendship and why social media is being redesigned, and TFN’s own Akansha Dimri, Editor-in-Chief, who will highlight the global trends and investments shaping digital society.
AI is speeding up shifts in the internet – and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing, if companies use this moment to build with humanity in mind. Mitrevska says that AI gives “less room for misunderstanding and vague communication. It makes intent even more important, as clarity is essential in this context.”
“Even in digital environments where everything is automated, people still want it to feel personal. All of this is making companies pay more attention to the human layer again,” she adds, and those who do will be winners in the long run.
This is fundamental for remote work, as “when you remove physical presence, you start noticing what was actually holding things together, and what wasn’t.”
As a reminder, the webinar takes place on May 20, at 3 PM CET. It will be moderated by Native Teams’ Head of Brand Marketing, Sonia Shapiro. Don’t forget to sign up here.
