Before smartphones, social media, and instant messaging, the world worked very differently. To book a holiday, people visited a travel agent’s shop on the high street. To research anything, they went to the library. If someone wanted to watch a specific film, they needed to find a video rental shop that had it in stock. Banking required standing in queues during limited opening hours.

Then the internet changed the world.

When the Internet began entering homes and businesses in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it triggered significant anxiety. Newspapers ran alarming headlines about this concerning new technology:

• Jobs would vanish: Travel agents, shop assistants, and bank cashiers would become obsolete.
• Society would fragment: People would stop interacting face-to-face.
• Information overload: Too much unverified information would overwhelm us.
• Privacy would disappear: Personal data would be exposed and exploited.
• Traditional businesses would collapse: High streets would empty as online shopping took over.

These fears weren’t entirely wrong. The Internet did change jobs, relationships, information access, privacy, and business. But the changes weren’t simply good or bad – they were complex transformations that brought both challenges and opportunities.

AI today: The new internet moment

Today’s conversations about artificial intelligence echo those early internet fears with remarkable similarity. Headlines warn about job losses, the end of human creativity, privacy violations, and the end of society as we know it. The parallels are striking, which is precisely why there’s reason for optimism.
Lessons from the internet era
Looking at how the Internet transformed society offers valuable insights about AI’s likely path:

1. Jobs transformed rather than disappeared. While travel agencies on high streets declined, new roles emerged as online travel sites, review platforms, and specialised travel services. The Internet didn’t eliminate travel jobs – it changed them.
2. New job categories emerged. Social media managers, SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) specialists, app developers, and countless other roles that couldn’t have been imagined before became essential parts of the economy.
3. Society adapted socially. While online interaction increased, people still meet for coffee, gather in pubs, and celebrate occasions together. Technology changed the balance of communication but didn’t replace human connection.
4. Tools and regulations evolved. As Internet challenges emerged, new solutions followed – from spam filters to data protection regulations.

Why AI’s Future Looks Promising

AI is following a similar path, but with important advantages:

1. 1. Society has practice with technological change. The Internet experience has created better frameworks for managing technological transitions.
2. Conversations about ethics are happening earlier. Unlike the Internet, which developed ethical frameworks reactively, AI is being shaped by proactive ethical discussions right from the beginning.
3. AI enhances human capability. Forward-thinking employers across Yorkshire and beyond are already using AI to handle routine tasks, allowing their teams to focus on creative, meaningful work that computers can’t do.
4. Practical benefits are significant. AI is improving healthcare diagnoses, making homes more energy-efficient, personalising education, and saving time on administrative tasks.

What This Means for Daily Life
Within the next few years, AI will likely:

• Make home systems truly smart, adjusting heating based on habits and weather forecasts to lower energy bills.
• Provide personalised health monitoring that detects potential issues before they become serious.
• Streamline workplace tasks that currently waste valuable time.
• Create new types of jobs focused on uniquely human skills.

The Path Forward

The transition won’t always be smooth. Some jobs will indeed change significantly. New regulations will be needed. There will be setbacks and challenges.

But just as today’s world isn’t defined by the loss of video rental shops and travel agency storefronts, tomorrow’s world won’t be defined by what AI replaces. Instead, it will be shaped by what the combination of human creativity and artificial intelligence can build together.

What the Internet Revolution can teach us about the future of AI is that disruption often leads to reinvention. The future isn’t about humans versus machines. It’s about the remarkable things that become possible when human ingenuity is amplified by powerful tools. That future is something worth looking forward to with optimism.

Matt Lawless, local/entrepreneur passionate about helping businesses grow through the strategic use of AI.
Contact: [email protected]