We built a machine to think for us. It’s working.

Connected to everything. In control of nothing.

Eighteen ideas from Anthony Roberts, Jr. about who will control the internet, what it’s doing to the way we think, and where our time and money are going. Each one comes with U.S. numbers behind it, plus the best evidence against it.

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Part I · Control

1The open internet has an expiration date.55%2The next war will be fought on the network.$20.9B3Data is the currency. You are the mint.73%4The internet will have toll lanes.23M

Part II · Dependence

5The smarter the internet gets, the less we think.28%6A generation can’t tell time without a screen.43%7The economy has no offline mode.$11B8If the AI said it, it must be true.1%9The answer is the end of the search.68%10Every instant answer drains the grid.12%

Part III · Trust

11Seeing is no longer believing.53%12Every message is a possible trap.$15.9B13We only believe what agrees with us.1 in 714The loudest voice wins.77%

Part IV · Attention

15The creator economy is a bubble.48.7%16Social media stopped being social.−25%17We forgot how to talk face to face.20 min18We film instead of help.11%

Why I wrote this

I work in marketing. My job is to know where people’s attention, trust and money are going. These eighteen ideas are my best read on where it’s all heading. Each one is backed by published research, mostly from U.S. sources, and ends with what it means for the people who build brands.

— Anthony Roberts, Jr. · A.S. and B.S. in Marketing · M.S. in Internet Marketing

Questions people ask

What is zero-click search?

A search that ends without a click to any website, often because an AI-written answer appears at the top of the results. Between January and April 2026, 68% of U.S. Google searches ended without a click, up from 60% in 2024.

Is AI making people think less?

Anthony Roberts, Jr. argues that it is. The share of U.S. adults at the lowest reading level rose from 19% in 2017 to 28% in 2023, and in an MIT study 83% of people who wrote with ChatGPT could not quote their own essay minutes later.

How much do Americans lose to scams and cybercrime?

Americans reported losing a record $15.9 billion to fraud in 2025, according to the FTC, and $20.9 billion in cybercrime losses to the FBI in 2025, up 26% in one year.

How much electricity do data centers use?

U.S. data centers used about 4.4% of the country’s electricity in 2023 and could use up to 12% by 2028, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

What is the digital divide in the U.S.?

Only 54% of Americans in households earning under $30,000 have home broadband, compared with 94% of those earning $100,000 or more. When the Affordable Connectivity Program ended in 2024, 23 million households lost their help paying for internet.

Who is Anthony Roberts, Jr.?

Anthony Roberts, Jr. is a marketing strategist and internet trends analyst with an A.S. and B.S. in Marketing and an M.S. in Internet Marketing. His eighteen theories forecast how AI, data and platforms are changing how people think, trust, connect and spend.

Is the internet making us dumber?

It’s making some skills weaker. The share of U.S. adults at the lowest reading level rose from 19% in 2017 to 28% in 2023, and in an MIT study 83% of people who wrote with ChatGPT couldn’t quote their own essay minutes later. Others argue AI can help people learn faster when it’s used well.

Who controls the internet?

No single group does yet. Control is split among governments, tech companies and standards groups. But governments shut down the internet 313 times in 2025, and 51% of Americans say the federal government should limit false information online.

How can I tell if a text is a scam?

Be wary of any unexpected text that rushes you, asks you to tap a link, or mentions a package, toll or bank problem. Fake package-delivery texts were the most reported text scam of 2024. Don’t tap the link. Open the company’s app or website yourself, and forward the text to 7726.

Will AI answers replace Google search?

They are already changing it. In early 2026, 68% of U.S. Google searches ended without a click, often because an AI answer appeared at the top. AI tools are still a small share of browsing: about 0.55% in March 2025, compared with 10.55% for search engines.

For reporters

Anthony Roberts, Jr. is available to comment on AI search, digital dependence, scams, data privacy, the digital divide and the creator economy. Email contact@arobjr.com or connect on LinkedIn. Replies within 24 hours.

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