Back then, the Internet was mysterious, messy, and a little scary. And today I get the same feeling again – only now the technology is artificial intelligence.
The parallels are unmistakable. Just as the internet is reshaping the way we communicate, learn and do business, AI will do the same. The pattern feels familiar: excitement, fear, resistance and ultimately acceptance. We’ve been here before. And if history is any guide, we will get through it.
The Internet Panic of the 1990s: Chaos, Cookies and Control
When the Internet became mainstream in the 1990s, the public conversation looked a lot like the current AI debate. People were concerned about privacy (cookies and tracking) and the Internet Engineering Task Force set boundaries cross site cookies.
They also worried about disinformation (think the cyber porn panic?), and automation was concerned about job losses and worker displacement. There were fears about it who was actually in control of this new, invisible network that connects everything.
Meanwhile, marketers were among the first to experiment with the medium through websites, email and online advertising. We have made mistakes. We learned about privacy the hard way. We’ve been watching bad actors screw things up for a while – hello, spam.
And then we mostly figured it out. Regulations emerged, industry standards were formed, and consumers adapted. It didn’t take long for the internet to become an essential, trusted part of everyday life. The transformation was bumpy, but it happened – and it was worth it.
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The AI fear of the 20s: familiar fears in a faster world
Fast forward to today: AI inspires the same mix of fascination and fear. We are concerned about:
- Privacy: What data are models trained on and who has given permission?
- Truth: Can we trust what is generated?
- Prejudice: Who is left out or misrepresented?
- Control: Are we the driving force behind this technology or does it drive us?
If that sounds familiar, it should. It’s the same cultural fear we had about the Internet. Only now it’s moving at warp speed.
Marketers are once again leading the way. We use AI to write texts, segment target groups, generate images and predict behavior. And just like in the 1990s, the temptation to go too far, too fast is real. But so does opportunity, if we handle it well.
What the Internet has taught us and what it means for AI
1. Transparency creates trust
When websites started collecting data in the 1990s, users were left in the dark. The backlash forced us to create a privacy policy, consent checkboxes and unsubscribe links.
AI will need its own moment of transparency. Marketers need to be transparent about when and how AI is used (I recommend using AI). AI Guidelines from Georgetown University as a template) and, more importantly, why it benefits the customer. Confidence follows clarity.
2. Ethics can be a competitive advantage
As spam began to dominate email, responsible senders learned to differentiate themselves consent-based marketing. We set the bar higher than the law did, and then industry organizations enforced these higher standards. Those of us who respected the inbox won (thank goodness!).
The same will happen with AI. Marketers who use it responsibly, as a productivity tool and not as a hack, will earn more engagement, loyalty, and credibility in the long term.
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3. Regulations will catch up (eventually)
Every major digital wave eventually faced a legal reckoning: the Communications Decency Act, CAN-SPAM, and GDPR. AI will do that too. One thing that sets 2025 apart from the 1990s is who wants legislation. With the internet, the prevailing sentiment in the industry was let it grow itself. Today, OpenAI and other organizations in the space have done this consistently called for federal AI legislation.
That said, the best marketers don’t wait for the rules. They anticipate it. Now is the time to document your data sources, understand the limitations of your model, and build accountability into your AI processes.
4. Prejudice is the new digital divide
In the 1990s we worried about who had access to the Internet. Today we worry about whose data trains the AI algorithms. Marketers who test for bias and ensure inclusive representation in AI-driven content will not only be on the right side of ethics, but will also create better-performing campaigns.
The conclusion: same story, different technology
AI is the next internet. It’s the same cycle of disruption, fear and adaptation, but faster. Just as the internet has reshaped marketing in ways we can barely imagine, so will AI.
When I worked at Reed Elsevier in the early 2000s, my digital team often pointed out that we were one of the few companies making money on the Internet – without pornography or pseudo-medicine. It was our way of saying we were building something sustainable, reliable and legit.
That’s what we need to do with AI now. We will make mistakes. We will overcorrect. We will find balance. And we will come up with something better: an ecosystem that is smarter, more efficient and, yes, more human.
Because this is the truth: technology does not erode trust. How we use it is. And marketers, as we’ve proven before, are uniquely equipped to lead that evolution again.
Dig deeper: In an era of AI excess, trust becomes the real differentiator
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