Crawlers, which now account for half of all internet traffic, are essential for search engines, price comparison, and data aggregation. They also support web security, accessibility, and historical archives. However, the rise of AI has disrupted this balance. AI companies like OpenAI use web-crawled data to train systems like ChatGPT, leading to a backlash from websites fearing economic displacement. Since mid-2023, over 25% of high-quality data has been restricted. Websites are employing anti-crawling technologies, potentially limiting access for all crawlers, including those from academics and journalists. This could lead to a more closed web, with increased logins, paywalls, and access restrictions, reducing the open access that has defined the internet.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
