Imagine a new type of internet that not only accurately interprets what you enter, but understands everything you transmit, whether through text, voice or other media, where all the content you consume is more relevant to you than ever, we are at a turning point in a new stage in the development of the web, some of the first pioneers called it Web 3.0
It can be said that there are few existing Web 3.0 applications currently in the early stages, but until the new internet becomes fully integrated into the web infrastructure, its true potential cannot be noticed.
What is Web 3.0
Web 3.0 is the next third generation of the internet where websites and applications will be able to process information in an intelligent, human-like way through technologies such as machine learning, big data, distributed ledger technology, etc
Web 3.0 was originally called the semantic web by the inventor of the World Wide Web Tim Berners-Lee, and was intended to be a more independent, intelligent and open internet.
The definition of Web 3.0 can be expanded as follows: data will be interconnected in a decentralized way, and it will be a huge leap forward for our current generation of the Internet (Web 2.0), where data is mostly stored in centralized repositories.
Moreover, users and machines will be able to interact with the data, but for this to happen programs need to understand the information both conceptually and contextually.
With this in mind, the two main pillars of Web 3.0 are the semantic web and artificial intelligence (AI).
Web 3.0, Cryptocurrency and Blockchain
Since Web 3.0 networks will operate through decentralized protocols – the building blocks of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency – we can expect to see a strong convergence and symbiotic relationship between these three technologies and other areas.
It will be interoperable, seamlessly integrated and automated through smart contracts and will be used to power anything from micro-transactions in Africa, storing censorship-resistant P2P data files and sharing them with applications such as Filecoin, to force big tech companies to rethink their core business models.
The current number of DeFi protocols is just the tip of the iceberg.
Web technologies 3.0
There are some details that we need to keep in mind when considering Web 3.0 technology.
The first is that the concept is not new as Jeffrey Zeldman, one of the early developers of web 1.0 and 2.0 applications, wrote a blog post supporting Web 3.0 back in 2006 but conversations about it started as early as 2001.
The evolution of Web 3.0 technologies
Web 3.0 will be born from the natural evolution of web tools of the older generation combined with cutting-edge technologies such as AI and blockchain, as well as the interconnection of users and the increased use of the internet.
Apparently, Web 3.0 is an upgrade to its predecessors Web 1.0 and 2.0.
Web 1.0 (1989-2005)
Web 1.0, also called Static Web, was the first and most reliable internet in the nineties although it only provides access to limited information with little or no user interaction.
In the past, creating user pages or even commenting on articles was not important and Web 1.0 did not have algorithms for filtering internet pages, which made it difficult for users to find relevant information.
Simply put, it was like a one-way highway with a narrow corridor where the content was created by a select few and the information mostly came from directories.
Web 2.0 (2005-present)
The social network, or Web 2.0, has made the internet more interactive thanks to developments in web technologies such as Javascript, HTML5, CSS3, etc., enabling startups to build interactive web platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia and many others.
This paved the way for the flourishing of both social networks and the production of user-generated content as the distribution and sharing of data between various platforms and applications became possible.
The toolkit was launched in this internet age by a number of web innovators such as the aforementioned Jeffrey Zeldman.
Web 3.0 is yet to come
Web 3.0 is the next stage of web development that will make the internet smarter or process information with human-like intelligence through the power of artificial intelligence systems that can run intelligent programs to help users.
Tim Berners-Lee said that the semantic web is meant to “automatically " interact with systems, people and household appliances.
As such, content creation and decision-making processes will involve both humans and machines, and this would enable the intelligent creation and distribution of highly customized content directly to every consumer of the internet.
Key features of Web 3.0
To understand the next stage of the internet, we need to look at the four main features of Web 3.0, namely:
- He will be everywhere
- Semantic web
- Artificial intelligence
- Three-dimensional drawings
- Ubiquitous presence
Omnipresence means being or being able to be everywhere, especially at the same time.
In this sense, Web 2.0 is already ubiquitous because, for example, a Facebook user can instantly take a photo and share it, which then becomes ubiquitous since it is available to anyone no matter where they are, as long as they have access to social networking sites.
Web 3.0 simply takes this one step further by making the internet accessible to everyone anywhere, anytime.
At some point, devices connected to the internet will no longer be concentrated on computers and smartphones as in Web 2.0 since IoT technology will produce a huge number of new types of smart devices.
Semantic web
The semantic web is a vision about an extension of the now existing World Wide Web, which provides programs with automatically interpretable metadata of published information and data, in other words, we add more data descriptors Data Descriptors to existing content and data other than pre-existing on the web.
As a result, computers are able to provide meaningful explanations, and these explanations are similar to the way humans process information to achieve their goals. The ultimate goal of the semantic web is to enable computers to better manipulate data and information on behalf of humans.
How much does the word “semantic " refer to the possibility of automated processing or what the machine can do with the data,The semantic web is one of the most important features of Web 3.0.
So, the semantic web, according to Berners-Lee, enables computers to analyze large amounts of data from the web, which includes content, transactions and links between people.
Because Web 3.0 devices can read and decode the meaning and emotions conveyed by a set of data, they produce intelligent machines.
Although Web 2.0 offers similar capabilities, it is still mostly human-based, opening the way for corrupt behaviors such as biased product reviews, fake ratings, etc.
For example, online review platforms such as Trustpilot provide a way for consumers to review any product or service.
Unfortunately, a company can simply gather a large group of people and pay them for creating positive reviews of its undeserved products.
Therefore, the internet needs artificial intelligence to learn how to distinguish authentic from fake in order to provide reliable data.
Google's artificial intelligence system recently removed almost 100,000 negative reviews of Robinhood from the Play Store in the wake of the GameSpot trading debacle when it discovered attempts to manipulate the rating with the aim of artificially voting the app.
This is artificial intelligence under implementation, which will soon fit seamlessly into Internet 3.0, allowing blogs and other online platforms to sift data and adapt it to the liking of each user.
As artificial intelligence advances, it will eventually be able to provide users with the best possible filtered and unbiased data.
Spatial web and three-dimensional graphics
Some futurists also call Web 3.0 the Spatial Web because it aims to blur the line between physical and digital by revolutionizing graphics technology, making a clear focus on three-dimensional (3D) virtual worlds.
Unlike its two-dimensional counterparts, three-dimensional graphics bring a new level of immersion not only in future gaming applications such as Decentraland،
But also in other sectors such as real estate, health, e-commerce and many others.
Applications (Web 3.0)
A common requirement of the Web 3.0 application is the ability to assimilate large-scale information and turn it into real-world knowledge and useful implementations for users.
With that being said, these apps are still in their infancy, which means they have a lot of room for improvement and are a far cry from how Web 3.0 apps work.
Some of the companies that build or have products that they convert to Internet 3.0 applications are Amazon, Apple and Google.
Two examples of applications that use Web 3.0 technologies are Siri and Wolfram Alpha.
- Personal assistant Siri
Over the years, Apple's voice-controlled AI assistant has become smarter and expanded its capabilities since its debut in the iPhone 4S model.
Siri uses speech recognition, along with artificial intelligence, to be able to execute complex and personalized commands.
Today, Siri and other artificial intelligence assistants such as Amazon's Alexa and Samsung's Bixby can understand more complex requests, instantly coming up with the right information.
- Wolfram Alpha
It is an “algorithmic knowledge engine” that answers your questions directly by calculation, instead of giving you a list of web pages as search engines do.
If you want a practical comparison, search for "england vs brazil" on both Wolfram Alpha and Google and see the difference.
Google offers the results of the World Cup even if you did not include the word “football” as a keyword, since it is the most popular search.
On the other hand, WolframAlpha will give you a detailed comparison of the two, as you requested, and this is the main difference between Web 2.0 and 3.0
In the end, the new internet will provide a more personalized and personalized browsing experience, a more intelligent and human-like Search Assistant, and other decentralized features that we hope will help create a fairer web, this will be achieved by enabling each individual user to become the Sovereign of their data, creating a richer overall experience thanks to the myriad of innovations that will come once they are in place.
