BRIDGE Summit 2025 Showcases UAE’s Leadership In Balancing Human And Virtual Connections

At the BRIDGE Summit 2025, Alexis Ohanian, Founder and General Partner at Seven Seven Six, shared his thoughts on the evolution of web technologies. During a session titled ‘Re-turning the Web’, moderated by Nikhil Kumar from TIME, Ohanian predicted that activities like sports and live theatre will flourish in a world influenced by AI.

Ohanian highlighted the significance of the BRIDGE Summit as a testament to the UAE's leadership, especially Abu Dhabi's role in fostering initiatives that balance digital and human interactions. He noted, "Conservatively, I’d say 20% of all content we see on social media is fake in some form or another, and it actually reports as high as half and that number is only going to go up, so someone is going to have to crack what the next wave of social media looks like that verifies humanity."

The rise of bots and AI tools like Chat GPT has contributed to misinformation online. Ohanian believes this will lead people to prefer live events over endless scrolling for genuine experiences. He expressed optimism about returning to real-world interactions: "Live events are going to be one of the best parts to come out of this AI wave and it's one of the things that I hope for…The only way humans really got things done was by communicating and working together and bonding and all the other great things that came out of it. So the optimist in me wants to return to that."

As distrust in digital content grows due to deep fakes, Ohanian sees a shift towards offline engagement through live events. He is particularly enthusiastic about women's sports gaining more attention. After leaving Reddit, he invested in a women's football club.

Ohanian discussed his venture into women’s sports: "I had two little girls watching me so I wanted to do my best work in my career and one of the first things I ended up doing was in sports, but specifically women’s sports. And so I started a team in Los Angeles as the founding controlling owner called, Angel City FC. At the time, most people said I’d lose my money because no one cares about women’s sports. Thankfully, we proved them all wrong and it’s one of the most valuable teams in women’s soccer in the United States."

Praising Abu Dhabi for its advancements, Ohanian acknowledged its excellence in hosting major sporting events like Formula One. He stated: "And I also just a shout out to Abu Dhabi. Every time I come back here, I'm hit with such optimism and energy, and it's so heartening. And I just give credit to all my friends who are here for the progress. It's really awesome, and it's just great to see so many people convening from all over the world, not just for the F1 but also for building and solving real problems. And I want to be around people who want to build. I’m just happy to be here."

With inputs from WAM