• Web 3.0 is the next (third) generation of the Internet, providing a more customized personal browsing experience, incorporating AI through machine learning into more human-like apps and a search assistant, with other decentralized benefits, with hopes to establish a more equitable web.  So, what were Web 1.0 and 2.0, and how exactly will we move forward, including the hurdles, to Web 3.0?  We will address these topics and provide you with an indication of what the future and web 3.0 will bring. 

Web 1.0 and 2.0

To understand where Web 3.0 is going, it is worthwhile first to understand the Internet’s foundations.  Web 3.0 was coined in the early 2000s, but an early internet app developer Jeffrey Zeldman, wrote a blog post supporting Web 3.0 back in 2006, and this is considered the first mainstream use of the term, even if in a joking way.  

Web 1.0 (circa 1989-2004)

Web 1.0 is considered the Static Web and was the first reliable Internet of the 1990s, initially only offering limited information and little to no user interaction.  The creation of in-site user pages and interactive commenting on blogs or articles was nearly nonexistent.  No algorithms were sifting through internet pages, making the finding of relevant information difficult.  The information highway was a narrow one-way path cobbled together by few, with information provided in directories rather than personalized, curated search engines.

Web 2.0 (circa 2005-present)

Web 2.0, or the Social Web, added interactivity to the Internet.  Advancements in web technologies like HTML5, JavaScript, CSS3 enabled small companies to create interactive platforms and grow into the Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and Amazon we know today.  2.0 paved the way for social networks to thrive using user-generated content and interaction.  With Web 2.0, data in standardized formats could now be distributed and shared between different platforms and applications.

Web 3.0

Web 3.0 is the next evolutionary stage for the Web, making the Internet more intelligent, processing information with more human-like intelligence, via better AI systems able to run next-generation smart programs to assist each user.  Five specific attributes will come together to make Web 3.0:

• Ubiquity/Connectivity-With the current Web 2.0 ubiquity, an Instagram user can take a picture and then share that picture with everyone, no matter where they are, as long as they have an Instagram account. Web 3.0 takes the next step by making Internet access available, not only to computers and phones but, to everyone anywhere, at any time.  This is done through more internet-connected smart devices; building on IoT (Internet of Things) technology will be a plethora of new data and uses of that data.

• Semantic Web-Semantics is the relationship between words and finding their meaning or emotion. The Semantic Web means the linking of data from several sources and their relationship.  Computers will now have access to the vast supplies of data provided from the ubiquity of Web 3.0, created from content, interactions, transactions, and links.  In practice, how would this look? Let’s take these two sentences, for instance:

I love Dogs            and            I <3 Dogs

Though they are different, their semantic emotion and meaning are nearly the same.  Semantics, when applied to the Web, enables computers to find meaning through data analysis.  A user will have a better, more natural experience when interacting with apps and the Web.  The Semantic Web is intended to interface with systems, people, and devices seamlessly.  Content creation and decision-making will be the product of both humans and machines.  This mix enables highly personalized intelligent creation and distribution of content to every Web consumer.

• Artificial Intelligence-Because of the increase of data and the need for semantic web capabilities, a proportional rise in Artificial Intelligence is a requirement. Web 2.0 already has some similar capabilities; it, however, remains a demonstrably human-based system with human faults of corrupt behavior, like biased reviews and rigged ratings.  A company can pay for a group to provide positive reviews for products and services that don’t deserve them.  This activity can be counteracted with human scanning or, more preferably, training an AI to filter and provide reliable data and is already beginning to happen, through text and outlier recognition.  Google’s Playstore AI system recently removed 100,000 negative reviews of Robinhood’s app after Robinhood blocked its users from buying Gamespot shares.  Google detected rating manipulation attempts to downvote the app.  Putting whether Robinhood’s moves were ethical aside, Google’s AI did its job. This AI will integrate into Web 3.0, allowing blogs and other online platforms to filter data while tailoring content to each user’s liking.  If unrestricted, Web 3.0 AI will ultimately provide users with the most personalized yet unbiased data possible.

• 3D Graphics– With Web 3.0, virtual and augmented reality possibilities will increase, blurring the lines between the real and digital worlds. Experts consider Web 3.0 a spatial web able to do much more than the 2D screens that we see today.  The benefits of adding a third dimension and more capability can be easily understood in the fields of medicine, real estate, and E-commerce, but other services such as banking, finance, and travel can also gain from these innovations. 

• Decentralization– Some programmers envision a change from the Web 2.0 dominated by companies providing services in exchange for user’s personal data to a Web 3.0 with decentralized apps run on distributed blockchain technology. These apps will allow users to participate without monetizing personal data.

With Web 3.0, Semantic Web data isn’t owned, rather it’s shared, allowing services to show different views for the same Web and same data.  This requires a massive shift to “the world’s information” rather than the current information silos that companies have with Web 2.0.  This information sharing raises all boats providing Google, Facebook, or any other company with more useful data than they could ever attain with their existing information schema.  This advantage from increased data is especially true from a machine conception perspective when compared to human understanding.  The Semantic Web necessitates new computer languages (like OWL, a declarative ontological language), which can better reason input information and make conclusions from it, rather than simply matching keywords as is done today.

Graphic Courtesy of Geeks for Geeks

Graphic Courtesy of Ethereum.org

What Are The Roadblocks to Web 3.0?

There are a few roadblocks that are limiting our progression to Web 3.0.  The first is scalability; with the current infrastructure in place, there is a need to increase data storage, transmission, and processing.  The cost requirements to improve data transmission infrastructure are high, and the upfront costs for processing of data in fast efficient ways and supplying a product with Web 3.0 applications that are successful and marketable are also high.  

If the decentralized route is taken, transactions would currently be slower on Web 3.0.  State changes like payments need processing by the infrastructure and then propagated through it, which is currently limited.  The current blockchain networks can only allow for small focused dapps due to their relatively expensive nature. 

User Experience is more important and time-consuming.  Web 3.0 applications will require several extra steps.  Having a 3D and semantic nature requires entirely new ways of thinking, software, and user education.  Education of programmers to create apps with new capabilities using new computing languages and ways of thinking is necessary, along with adoption by notoriously fickle human users will be a challenge.

Inertia will likely be the most challenging hurdle.  Moving to decentralized applications with no governmental or multinational corporation controls requires these power centers to give up their capability to edit, prevent, and censor data and transactions.  Additionally, switching to a universal data set, which would be used to connect apps and people, would result in the betterment of the whole; however, these changes require changes in a mindset of current powerful entities that believe their company’s data is worth something, and they don’t want to share it with everyone; doing so is a release of their powerful grip.  

Summary

While there are roadblocks in the way, the benefits and future of Web 3.0 will eventually be a reality.  There will be some minor changes that happen incrementally, like 5G transmissions, improved AI, better data sets, and moves towards quantum computing that will increase the capabilities of current services giving more functionality and better-suited products and services to users.  The other hurdles require mindset shifts and systemic changes that will be necessary to realize Web 3.0 fully.  While those changes will be complex, considering the potential of Web 3.0, they will be well worth the effort. 

Disclaimer:  The author of this text, Jean Chalopin, is a global business leader with a background encompassing banking, biotech, and entertainment.  Mr. Chalopin is Chairman of Deltec International Group, deltecbankstag.wpengine.com.

 The co-author of this text, Robin Trehan, has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, a Master’s in International Business and Finance, and an MBA in Electronic Business.  Mr. Trehan is a Senior VP at Deltec International Group, deltecbankstag.wpengine.com.

 The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this text are solely the views of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect those of Deltec International Group, its subsidiaries, and/or its employees.