Author: rm
Compiled by: Deep Tide TechFlow
Once upon a time, the internet felt complete—each application, service, and product cleverly combined form, function, and content. Louis Sullivan's idea of 'form follows function' influenced ways of thinking about architecture and design, while Dieter Rams' design principles further advanced this idea. However, these concepts do not fully apply in the digital realm. In the virtual world, form and function require a third element: content.
Form, function, and content have always been at the core of digital experiences. Form is what we see—visual effects, embellishments, and atmosphere. Function is how we operate—how we interact, explore, and experience. And content is the meaning, data, and information within. This triad structure defines digital design and shapes the internet we know.
But recently, this balance seems to be breaking down. Form, function, and content are beginning to disintegrate, no longer tightly integrated as they once were. We see these elements being separated, losing the unified experience of the past.
Unbundling for new types of users
We have experienced many cycles of bundling and unbundling in the past, but this time, the situation is vastly different. What was once a complete experience is now being disassembled into independent actions. The entire service can now be simplified to an API call or a smart contract. Our interactions are scattered between server-side processing and client-side interfaces, leaving only modular fragments instead of a complete system.
When you use a new search engine, you no longer see the collaboration of form, function, and content as in the past. You are no longer in a symbiotic relationship with form, function, and content. What you see are scattered fragments, integrated into a customized new interface. We have transcended a unified web and entered a world composed of loosely connected fragments.
But what if this unbundling is not just a technological evolution? What if it is because the primary users of the internet are changing?
Autonomous Intelligence: The Rise of the Agent Network
A new type of user is emerging: autonomous agents. Some call them robots or proxy programs, but fundamentally, they are self-guided systems—autonomous intelligence. Unlike traditional AI, which is usually embedded in human-centered designs, autonomous agents navigate, process, and interact in the network without relying on human aesthetics, processes, or user experiences. They do not require the forms we need, nor do they need user-friendly functions. They only need direct access to content and actions.
This marks the rise of the agent network—an internet where the primary users are not humans. Agents can scrape, browse, and execute tasks without considering traditional interfaces. They skip embellishments, bypass experiences, and directly access data.
And the change is that: in a network where the number of agent users is increasing, we humans are becoming the minority. Why design for thousands of human users when billions of agents can utilize the same system with high scalability and almost no latency? When the primary 'audience' is no longer human, the traditional ideas of form, function, and content lose their original meaning. The three elements that once defined the internet are no longer as necessary as they once were.
Prioritize design for agents
If the web is shifting toward agent dominance, how do we design for these autonomous intelligences? What does it mean to build an internet primarily serving non-human users?
This shift signifies a transition from human-centered experiences to agent-centered architectures. Interfaces focused on efficiency, data, and machine readability will replace traditional user-friendly designs. We need to achieve high interoperability and composability, allowing agents to switch seamlessly between different tasks without being constrained by visuals or experiences. Documents, interfaces, and content may be streamlined to their most basic elements—not to guide humans, but to instruct autonomous intelligence on how to interact with the web at machine speed.
In an agent-first internet, every interaction is optimized for their needs, not ours. The familiar user experience will be replaced, turning into a data-intensive environment that may be difficult for us humans to recognize.
Are we still the masters of the internet?
As agents dominate the web, what does this mean for us humans? When the network is optimized to serve autonomous intelligences, what kind of internet will we find ourselves in? We may soon discover that we are merely secondary users in this network, becoming visitors in a space not designed for us.
Perhaps our internet needs to be generated on demand—a dynamic layer overlaying an agent-centric network, appearing only when we need it and quickly vanishing. Such an experience might resemble a temporarily generated interface based on our needs, rather than a fixed interface we can rely on.
But what does it mean for brands, products, and content if we first design for autonomous intelligence? If the digital space prioritizes machine readability and parallel processing over human interaction, what can we gain?
We are on the brink of an internet that may no longer consider us as primary users. A network that is no longer centered on human needs is gradually slipping out of our control. We created it, but it is changing beyond our reach—reshaping itself for the increasingly dominant agents.
Are we ready to embrace an internet where we are merely visitors and not the indigenous inhabitants?