Wheeler Concerned With AI’s Role in Web Traffic Drop and Journalism's 'Degradation'

AI is contributing to the decline of web traffic and the “degradation” of journalism, former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said Monday in a Brookings column. He noted how generative AI tools have been built using data from websites. He cited research from The Atlantic showing AI-powered searches deliver answers on about 75% of queries, which eliminates the need to navigate to websites for answers. Accordingly, Gartner estimates search engine web traffic will decline 25% by 2026, he said. AI could provide an “almost boundless expansion” of information and knowledge, but the technology shouldn't be used to degrade the "free flow of ideas and journalism that is essential for democracy to function.” A Public Knowledge policy expert, an independent lawyer and a local news publisher executive on Monday spoke against legislative proposals that would force Big Tech companies to pay link fees for news content they host (see 2406240056).