Controversy about the future of the Internet
Last updated
Last updated
While many believe that Web 3.0 will be the future of the Internet, Elon Musk and Jack Dorsey see it as just a marketing gimmick.
Web3, or Web 3.0, is one of the keywords that attracts attention on the Internet and has become a controversial topic of technology billionaires. This is the term for the decentralized web system built on the blockchain platform. It is considered the next step of the Internet, where there will be no more servers, and users will be in control of their own data, identity and destiny. Although in its infancy, Web3 has received a lot of support from the community.
The majority of Web3 supporters consider current online platforms too centralized and dominated by big technology companies like Apple, Amazon, Google or Meta - Facebook's parent company. These carriers store loads of data and personal information around the world, making it hard for users to trust.
However, new-generation tech billionaires like Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla or Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter, have a less positive view of the future of Web3.
On December 20, Musk shared on Twitter an interview between Bill Gates and host David Letterman in 1995. The content of the conversation revolved around Gates predicting the future of the Internet, while Letterman wondered about the difference. Distinguish between radio technology and the Internet. According to him, people can still use tape technology to store and review at any time instead of needing the Internet as Gates said.
Musk believes that the perception of the majority of users about Web3 today is similar to the perception of the Internet decades ago. Still, he considers Web3 - in which Internet services are rebuilt around blockchain and cryptocurrencies - as a fantasy, more "marketing than reality".
Musk admits he may be "too old" to understand new technology trends. "I'm like one of those people right now who see Internet 95 as a fad, or something that will never happen," he said, but noted that back in 1995, he understood. realize the potential of the Internet.
Another tech billionaire, Jack Dorsey, also doesn't believe Web3 will be the future of the Internet. According to him, Web3 is actually under the control of big investors. "It's somewhere between an a and a z," commented Dorsey, hinting that this trend could be dominated by a16z - one of the world's largest investment funds in Web3.
Meanwhile, TechCrunch quoted Hilary Carter, Vice President of the Linux Foundation, that Web3 survives and thrives thanks to innovation from blockchain. "The road is not smooth, many technologies have been abandoned because of initial failures, but it is those failures that spur innovation and solve the great problems of humanity. The sustainability of blockchain a few years ago has been resolved. Its influence is so great that today, many countries are planning to build their own digital currency system. It is the basis of many people's trust. into Web3 - the technology built on the blockchain," Carter said.
Stages of the Web
Web1 is considered the rise of a global network of links by the Internet. It started with the World Wide Web revolution (1991-2004). On Web1, users receive information passively, not many content creators work on this platform. The content appears in simple form, usually just text, numbers, and still images. Web1 is limited by Internet connection speed, while mobile devices are not yet prevalent and computers are still bulky machines.
In 2004, at a conference organized by O'Reilly Media and MediaLive, John Battelle and Tim O'Reilly defined the Internet as a platform where anyone can participate in content creation and community building. This concept is called Web2 and when it was born, it was also met with skepticism and was said to contain many security holes.
The best examples of Web2 are social networks such as Facebook, Twitter or Wikipedia dictionary. This trend is exploding thanks to the popularity of mobile devices, social networks, and cloud storage. Up to now, Web2 still has a lot of potential for development, but many people are concerned that large technology corporations have too much information in their hands. So many believe the next step of the Internet will be Web3, where the data belongs only to the users themselves.
Web3 is driven by the development of blockchain, AI and hardware processing power from powerful mobile devices, personal computers and even smart electric vehicles. All are supposed to connect, share resources, process information to create a huge decentralized data processing system.
There are three factors that shape the future of Web3: Open source code for all developers; Anonymity allows users to interact with each other openly or secretly; and Decentralization, allowing anyone to participate in providing and using services in Web3 instead of having to go through any organization or company.
Web1 and Web2 make up the Internet revolution, allowing users to reduce communication costs, easily connect. And Web3 is expected to open a new era of connectivity so that users can exchange and collaborate without going through an intermediary, the trust factor is no longer so important.
