Early Commercialisation and Its Promise

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The transcript of this event is available here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GvYGaOE-fnDQdFvrTLQjUGcrE6Ra0acN/view?usp=drive_link

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The most influential inventor of the modern world, Sir Tim Berners-Lee is a different kind of visionary. Born in the same year as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, Berners-Lee famously shared his invention, the World Wide Web, for no commercial reward. Its widespread adoption changed everything — transforming humanity into the first digital species.

In September 2025 Berners-Lee came to the Intelligence Squared stage to tell the story of his iconic invention and explore the future of human innovation. Drawing on his new memoir, This is For Everyone, Berners-Lee explored how the web launched a new era of creativity and collaboration, while unleashing a commercial race that today imperils democracies and polarises public debate.

As the rapid development of artificial intelligence heralds a new era of innovation, Berners-Lee is the perfect guide to the crucial decisions ahead, and to provide a gripping, in-the-room account of the rise of the online world.

With his characteristic optimism, technical insight and wry humour, Berners-Lee discussed the power of technology — both to fuel our worst instincts and to profoundly shape our lives for the better.

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