The Internet of Agents Is Being Built—But It's Not Yours (Yet)

Everyone's racing to define the 'Internet of Agents.' But right now, it's shaping up to be an internet for Big Tech, not by the people. We've been here before.

The Pattern Repeats

Twenty-five years ago, we stood at a similar crossroads with the World Wide Web. The internet had the potential to be a decentralized network where anyone could publish, anyone could access information, and innovation could emerge from the edges.

Instead, we got platform monopolies, walled gardens, and an internet controlled by a handful of tech giants.

History's Lessons

The early internet was built on open protocols: HTTP, SMTP, IRC. Anyone could implement these protocols, run their own servers, and participate in the network. Innovation happened everywhere because the barriers to entry were low.

But convenience won over freedom. It became easier to use Gmail than run your own email server. Easier to post on Facebook than maintain your own website. Easier to shop on Amazon than build an e-commerce site.

Each convenience trade-off seemed reasonable in isolation. Collectively, they concentrated power in the hands of a few platforms.

The Agent Internet Taking Shape

Today, as we build the Internet of Agents, we're seeing the same pattern emerge:

Centralized Agent Marketplaces

Major platforms are building agent stores where they control discovery, distribution, and monetization. Just like app stores, but for AI agents.

Proprietary Communication Protocols

Instead of open standards, we're getting platform-specific APIs and communication methods that lock agents into particular ecosystems.

Gatekeeper Models

The companies building foundational models are positioning themselves as the essential infrastructure layer—the new ISPs of the agent internet.

What We're Losing

An internet controlled by Big Tech means:

• Limited Innovation: Only agents that fit platform business models get built
• Surveillance by Default: Every agent interaction becomes data for the platform
• Algorithmic Control: Platforms decide which agents users discover and trust
• Economic Extraction: Value flows to platform owners, not agent creators

The Alternative Future

But it doesn't have to be this way. We can still build an Internet of Agents that serves people, not platforms:

Open Agent Protocols

Standardized communication protocols that any agent can implement, ensuring interoperability without platform lock-in.

Decentralized Discovery

Agent discovery mechanisms that don't require centralized marketplaces—think DNS for agents rather than app stores.

User-Controlled Identity

Identity systems where users, not platforms, control their agent relationships and data.

Economic Sovereignty

Direct economic relationships between users and agents, without platform intermediaries taking a cut of every transaction.

Why This Matters Now

The architecture decisions we make in the next few years will determine whether the Internet of Agents becomes a tool for human empowerment or corporate control.

Unlike the early web, we now understand how platforms accumulate power. We know the playbook: provide convenience and free services, build network effects, then extract value once users are locked in.

We have a chance to build different foundations this time.

The Window Is Closing

But this window won't stay open forever. As agent capabilities improve and adoption grows, the network effects that create platform dominance will strengthen.

The teams building agent infrastructure today are making architectural choices that will shape the next decade of AI. If we wait until platforms are entrenched to demand open alternatives, it will be too late.

What Needs to Happen

Building a people-first Internet of Agents requires:

• Open source agent infrastructure that anyone can run and modify
• Interoperability standards developed in the open, not behind closed doors
• Funding for public agent infrastructure that doesn't depend on surveillance capitalism
• Regulatory frameworks that promote competition and prevent platform lock-in

The Choice Is Ours

The Internet of Agents is being built right now. The question is whether it will be an internet that serves human autonomy and creativity, or one that extracts value for platform shareholders.

We have the technical knowledge and historical perspective to build something better this time. Whether we choose to do so is a question of collective will and action.

The internet we build in the next five years will shape human-AI interaction for the next fifty. Let's make sure it's one we want to live in.