As Agentic AI, fragmentation, and geopolitics reshape the digital world, how should we rebuild “digital trust” for the next-generation Internet?

In the face of the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) applications and rising geopolitical risks, the digital environment is undergoing a severe dual test of “trust” and “resilience.” In response to these challenges, the Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC) organized the inaugural Internet Week 2026. The event brought together leading domestic and international communities and organizations, including the Ministry of Digital Affairs (moda), the National Communications Commission (NCC), the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the Taiwan Internet Governance Forum (TWIGF), and the Taiwan Network Operators’ Group (TWNOG). Integrating multiple major forums, the four-day event featured a total of 66 thematic sessions.

Through cross-sector dialogue among the public and private sectors, international organizations, and technical communities, Internet Week 2026 aims to bring together governments, private enterprises, international organizations, technical communities, and civil society groups on a shared platform for exchange. The event not only seeks to establish an open, neutral, and diverse space for dialogue, but also strives to foster trust-based communication. By doing so, it aims to strengthen Taiwan’s substantive influence and visibility on the international Internet governance stage, while working together to build a digitally resilient and trusted future.。

 Identity verification does not equal trust; fragmentation is the real crisis.

 “Identity does not equal trust.” In a post-event interview, Steve Crocker, CEO of the Edgemoor Research Center, offered this thought-provoking observation.

As a key participant in the ARPANET era, Crocker witnessed the Internet evolve from an academic research network into the world’s most critical digital infrastructure. Yet amid today’s geopolitical tensions and diverging national regulations, he believes the Internet is facing an unprecedented challenge of fragmentation. “When values, regulations, and jurisdictions differ, how can we still maintain global interoperability and trust?” Crocker said, highlighting one of his key concerns. He noted that the future of digital governance can no longer rely on a single set of rules or a central authority. Instead, it must be built on a structure where globally shared frameworks and localized decision-making coexist.

Technical mechanisms can enable global interoperability, but countries should still retain room to adjust policies according to their own needs. This governance approach is also reflected in Project Jake, an initiative Crocker has been promoting in recent years. With the implementation of privacy regulations such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Whois domain registration data system—once widely used in cybercrime investigations—has become caught between privacy protection and the public interest. Project Jake seeks to establish a new mechanism for cross-border data access, and TWNIC is notably the first organization in the world to proactively participate in its pilot.

It is also worth noting that, in response to the growing discussion around blockchain and alternative domain name systems, or Alternative DNS, Crocker was direct in his assessment: these are often expensive solutions to problems that do not exist.

He emphasized that the true resilience of the Internet comes from the “distributed collaboration” and “interdependence” built over many years. “The Internet has never been a centrally controlled system. It is a network of networks.” In his view, rather than rebuilding fragmented alternative architectures, the more practical way to sustain global Internet trust is to continue deepening cross-border transparency, collaboration, and multistakeholder governance.

Photo:Steve Crocker, CEO of the Edgemoor Research Center 

Learning from Europe’s Digital Services Act: Redefining the Public Interest Through Individual Accountability

If Steve Crocker spoke about “trust in infrastructure,” Jeremy Godfrey’s focus was on the impact of platforms and AI on the public interest. Godfrey stated plainly that the biggest problem with today’s digital platforms is not merely whether individual pieces of content are true or false, but that the entire business model continues to amplify social risks. “Digital markets do not necessarily produce outcomes that are best for society.”

Having long overseen European regulatory affairs concerning global platforms such as Meta, X, and TikTok, Godfrey pointed out that when platforms take advertising revenue and user traffic as their core objectives, algorithms tend to amplify content that is more controversial and addictive. This, in turn, further affects democratic discourse, child protection, and social trust. Godfrey emphasized that when digital governance begins to involve fundamental human rights such as freedom of expression, human dignity, and electoral fairness, society can no longer leave the responsibility of balancing these rights entirely to commercial platforms. This is also why Europe has actively advanced the Digital Services Act (DSA) in recent years. In addition to requiring very large platforms to manage systemic risks, Ireland has gone a step further by requiring platforms to implement age verification, restrict the recommendation of harmful content to minors, and strengthen “individual accountability” within companies.

In Godfrey’s view, however, future governance should not merely be about passively “reducing harm,” but about rethinking the digital ecosystem as a whole. “We should not have to choose between innovation and safety; we should pursue both at the same time.” He believes that as AI and platforms gradually become part of society’s infrastructure, the core of governance is no longer just about technology. Rather, it is about enabling trust, safety, rights protection, and economic value to coexist, thereby rebuilding the public interest and the foundation of trust in the digital society.

Not Using AI Does Not Mean Greater Safety: The Boiling Frog Crisis of Digital Transformation

As AI and platforms gradually become part of society’s core infrastructure, the focus of governance will increasingly shift toward how enterprises, governments, and society can rebuild their capacity for trust amid rapid technological change. “AI has moved beyond answering questions and into taking action,” said Jiann Lee-Feng, Innovation Economy Advisor to the Executive Yuan’s Economic Development Commission. He noted that AI now possesses the ability to plan and execute tasks, and is gradually taking over the core processes of knowledge-based work.

This wave of transformation, driven by Agentic AI, will first affect white-collar workers. For enterprises, the next challenge will not merely be “process reengineering,” but a deeper form of “capability reengineering.” However, Jiann also warned that Taiwan is facing a “boiling frog” crisis in its digital transformation. Since many of Taiwan’s high-end service industries primarily serve the domestic market, companies often adopt AI only to make work faster, without truly transforming their core competitiveness or becoming smarter. In the global market, companies have already begun reducing large-scale recruitment of entry-level knowledge workers, while urgently seeking talent capable of collaborating with AI and redefining problems.

” Not using AI does not mean greater safety.” In response to concerns over AI-related cybersecurity and risks, Jiann offered a striking perspective. Using driving as an analogy, he explained that while a car that is never driven will certainly avoid traffic accidents, it also permanently loses its mobility. True digital governance is not about blocking technology altogether, but about building safeguards through actual use. He called on the government to adopt AI more proactively than ever before, stating that “if the government does not use AI itself, it will not have the capacity to govern AI. Only AI can regulate AI.” Drawing on the metaphor of “spear and shield,” he emphasized that in the face of new forms of digital crime, defensive mechanisms similar to an “AI police force” must be established. Only by using AI as a tool for testing and debugging can system vulnerabilities be identified with precision—that is, to “govern AI with AI.”

Beyond governance and technology, however, the final line of defense still comes back to people. Jiann emphasized that education in the future must shift from one-way instruction to guided learning, while comprehensively cultivating AI literacy among the public. This will enable people to develop independent thinking and the ability to understand risks in an environment where truth and falsehood are increasingly difficult to distinguish. Only then can a solid trust mechanism be established in a society deeply shaped by AI.

Photo:Jiann Lee-Feng, Innovation Economy Advisor to the Economic Development Commission, Executive Yuan

Diversity, Inclusion, and Resilience in Practice: The Cornerstones of a Trusted Digital Society

“The biggest issue today is no longer whether the Internet is fast enough, but whether people still dare to trust it,” said Jou-Fan Yu, Board Member and CEO of TWNIC. In the AI era, digital trust is not merely a technical issue, but a governance undertaking that requires participation across society. To this end, TWNIC is transforming from a purely technical community into a “driver of a trusted digital environment,” working to build a digital ecosystem that people are willing to trust and take part in.

Yu pointed out that building digital trust must begin at three levels. The first is the technical level, which concerns the resilience of core infrastructure, such as strengthening DNS abuse prevention and domain name security. The second is the governance level, which involves the design of regulatory frameworks and the balance between AI and content moderation. The third, and most critical, is social collaboration. She emphasized that trust can only be built when people are willing to engage in dialogue.

While promoting dialogue built on trust, diversity and inclusion are also key to putting resilience into practice. Speaking about the “Taiwan Tech Women” forum held during the event, Yu noted candidly that although Taiwan has made notable progress in gender equality, women remain underrepresented in decision-making circles within the technology sector. Yet the uncertainty of the AI era may also create an opportunity for women to break through existing boundaries. Drawing on the views of the forum speakers, she noted that as enterprises face increasingly complex geopolitical and technological risks, they will need “Ecosystem Leadership” that takes into account society, technology, and the public interest. Women’s strengths in empathy and patient cross-disciplinary communication will become essential capabilities for this kind of multistakeholder coordination.

” The greatest success would be that, one day, we no longer need to hold forums like Taiwan Tech Women,” Yu said. Only when gender is no longer a criterion for evaluation, and diverse voices become part of everyday digital governance, can a truly solid foundation of trust be established.

 Photo:Jou-Fan Yu, Board Member and CEO of TWNIC

Looking across the profound insights shared by experts at Internet Week 2026, the future of the Internet has clearly evolved into an environment shaped by regulatory oversight, human rights protection, economic innovation, and social inclusion. In the face of the fragmentation of the global Internet and the double-edged impact of AI, neither governments nor individual enterprises can address these challenges alone. “Public-private collaboration” and “open dialogue” will be key to navigating the unknown challenges ahead.

Through these cross-sector exchanges and discussions, Taiwan has demonstrated to the international community both its determination and its substantive capacity to put the multistakeholder governance model into practice. With the joint efforts of industry, government, academia, research institutions, and civil society, Taiwan looks forward to continuing to deepen its influence in international Internet governance, moving steadily into the next generation of the Internet, and working together to build a better future defined by digital resilience and trust.