Tim Berners-Lee: The man who dreamed of a World Wide Web

Oct 28, 2025

Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, shares his unique upbringing that sparked a tech revolution. He discusses the decision to make the web free, prioritizing access over wealth and fame. Tim explains his parents’ pioneering work in computing and how their parenting style fostered his curiosity. He reflects on the web's societal impact, the dangers of addictive platforms, and the importance of data sovereignty. Berners-Lee also highlights the crucial balance between online and offline life, reminding us of the value of in-person connections.

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ANECDOTE

Giving The Web Away

Tim Berners-Lee kept the web free and declined monetizing it so anyone could use it without charge.
He credits CERN's 1993 commitment not to charge royalties as crucial to making the web universally accessible.

ANECDOTE

An Inventive Childhood

Tim describes a childhood steeped in computing because both parents worked on the Ferranti Mark 1 and did home demonstrations.
His mother practised 'watchful negligence', letting the children tinker and learn independence through play and projects.

ANECDOTE

The Coffee-Shop Problem

At CERN, incompatible systems slowed collaboration and people relied on chance encounters at the coffee space to exchange information.
Tim envisioned the web as the 'world's coffee shop' to replicate that serendipitous exchange across the network.

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The inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, on the unique upbringing that inspired a tech revolution.

Tim Berners-Lee has well and truly changed the world. For under-35s it's almost impossible to imagine what life might have been like without him. But when he launched the World Wide Web in December 1990, no-one knew the success it would become - and most struggled to understand why the world needed the Web at all. Tim, however, grew up steeped in the knowledge that computers held the key to the future. His parents worked on the Ferranti Mark 1 - the world's first commercial computer - and raised Tim on a diet of science demonstrations and electronic tinkering. His mother Mary Lee was the family's driving force, encouraging an eclectic mix of logical thinking, creative problem-solving, camping trips and a spirit of 'watchful negligence' - all of which gave the introverted young Tim the confidence to think outside the box and find solutions for himself.

So when he went to work at CERN in Geneva in his late-20s and saw how computers struggled to talk to one another, he was perfectly placed to imagine and build what would become the World Wide Web.

Tim's vision for the Web was built around positivity - where anyone with access to an internet connection could freely share ideas with anyone else. He knew that the key to its success was universality, so he made the decision to give the Web away for free. As a result, Tim Berners-Lee is not a billionaire. But he says that's just the way he likes it, making him free to go for walks and swims in the Serpentine in London without being recognised. It's not all been good news though.

In the 35 years since its creation, the Web has been used as a base to build social media and AI empires that Tim says don't always act in our best interests. He fears the addictive effects of social media apps on children's mental health, and has decided to stop using Instagram as he was too often getting hooked on the feed. Tim says that his latest mission is to build a form of pro-human AI as an antidote to systems owned by Big Tech, and aims to help people reclaim control of their personal data so that the Web can, once again, belong to everyone.

Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Anna Lacey

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