Let’s assume that we retain the level of indirection by assigning UUIDs instead of domain names. If you used Tor, you may have caught a glimpse of how randomly looking domain names feel.
How nice would it be if we could make the domain a technical detail? Let’s say the browser would prominently show whatever entity the certificate is registered to instead (and HTTPS is everywhere).
To an operations engineer, readable DNS offers some advantages: in some environments we still refer to machines, and being able to distinguish between “eu-sigma” and “us-gamma”, for example, is much easier than between “7c07c564” and “74c47513”. However, some may disagree[0], and anyway this doesn’t justify the need for a global DNS.
As to the end user, the primary concern is that in 2016 we still type in domains[1], and at those times better memorability and shorter length matter a lot. You can also see domain names referenced in anti-phishing warnings—but with proper security practices that wouldn’t be a thing.
So I see that plus inertia—an upgrade costs time and money, and the existing system works (and makes some people money).
What does the bookmark or link point to, if not a domain name? If it points to an IP address instead, then changing servers would break all links and bookmarks.
