Web 3.0 and its Features

Web 3.0, as the name suggests, is the early or final stage in the evolution of the Internet. Web 3 or Web 3.0 is based on the concept of creating a decentralized ecosystem. This new tech side believes in harnessing the power of modern technologies such as AI, machine learning, and blockchain to solve problems in today’s internet/online ecosystem. This topic is trending nowadays so this is very important for exams like UPSC, SSC, Banking, and others.

What is Web 3.0?

• According to the Web3 Foundation, Web3 will provide “a decentralized and fair internet where users are in control of their data.
  Currently, if a seller wants to conduct a transaction with a buyer, both the buyer and the seller must register with a “shop” or “platform” such as Amazon or similar e-commerce portals. 
  
• What this ‘platform’ currently does is authenticate that the buyer and seller are the true parties to the transaction. Web3 is about to remove the “platform” role.
  
• Ordinary proofs supported by blockchain technology are used to authenticate the purchaser. The same goes for sellers.
  Blockchain permanently records the time and place of a transaction.
  
• Web3 enables peer-to-peer (seller-to-buyer) transactions by eliminating the role of intermediaries. This concept can be extended to other transactions as well. Imagine a social media application that shares photos with your followers. It could be a blockchain-backed broadcast operation by a person, and not all participants need social media accounts to do it.
  
• The spirit of Web3 is a distributed autonomous organization (DAO). This means that all business and administrative rules for all transactions are transparently available and software is built according to these rules.
  
• DAO does not require a central authority for authentication or validation. Cryptocurrencies and blockchains are technologies that follow DAO principles.

Web 3.0 has some distinctive features:

Decentralization:

This is the core idea of ​​Web 3.0. In Web 2.0, computers use HTTP in the form of unique web addresses to find information stored in a fixed location, usually a single server. Web 3.0 finds information based on its content, so it can be stored and distributed in multiple places at the same time. This would collapse the massive databases currently maintained by internet giants such as Meta and Google, giving users more control.

Trustless and Permissionless:

In addition to being decentralized and based on open-source software, Web 3.0 is trustless (meaning a network in which participants can interact directly without a trusted intermediary) and permissionless ((meaning anyone can join without permission). ). As a result, Web 3. 0 applications run on blockchains or decentralized peer-to-peer networks.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine learning:

Web 3.0 will also use machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) that uses data and algorithms to mimic human learning and incrementally improve its accuracy. These capabilities will allow computers to generate faster, more relevant results in areas as diverse as drug development and new materials, as opposed to targeted advertising, which dominates current efforts. 

Major Advantages:

Open network:

Web 3.0 is an open network and all applications and programs are developed with open-source software. The code for development, which is a virtual resource, is open to the community and the development process is kept transparent.

No Middlemen:

Web 3 technology can also eliminate middlemen, allowing sellers and customers to interact directly. Non-fungible tokens already enable a lot of this in primarily static digital art, but this arrangement could easily be replicated in music, film, and other media.

User control of data:

Core Web 3.0 features such as decentralization and permissionless systems give users more control over their data. This limits data extraction practices and helps curb the network effects that have allowed tech giants to become near-monopoly through exploitative advertising and marketing practices. 

Decentralized Monetization:

With centralized content management, user-generated content typically belongs to the platform it was published on, but Web 3.0 can empower creators by giving them better monetization opportunities. About 2 million professional content her creators in India can benefit from.

Challenges/Concerns:

Massive Internet architecture needs to be overhauled:

From a technical perspective, Web3 requires a departure from the current architecture where there is a front end, middle tier, and back end. Web3.0’s architecture requires backend solutions for blockchain processing, storing and indexing data on the blockchain, peer-to-peer communication, and more. Similarly, the middle tier, also called the business rules tier, should contain blockchain-based backend processing.

Regulatory challenges:

It is argued that decentralization could lead to new types of cybercrime. Cybercrime, hate speech, and misinformation are already difficult to monitor, and the lack of centralized control makes them even more difficult in a decentralized structure. Cryptocurrency-based crime remains an important issue to be addressed, given the increasing total transaction volume that makes fraudulent transactions more valuable.

Lack of grievance procedures:

Its decentralized nature raises the question of who to contact in the event of a complaint and who is responsible for data breaches.

Lack of content moderation:

Web 3.0 is silent about censorship. May produce obscene and provocative material. This network makes it difficult to remove obscene or defamatory information, photos, or videos.

Way Ahead:

• India has used technology to shape the socioeconomic development of the country. (Examples include Bashar, Jan Dhan, UPI, COWIN, etc.). At the same time, India can benefit from leading and catalyzing this early development of Web 3.0.
  
• Web 3.0 can accelerate the value of India’s digital economy. In the face of such opportunities, the startup ecosystem needs to be encouraged and revitalized to place India well on the Web 3.0 map. Web 3.0 not only improves the user experience with digital government services but also enables high-quality data for evidence-based policymaking. From a government perspective, blockchain technology can be used to set up cross-sectoral services faster.
  
• The nature of Web 3.0 can be leveraged in academic and research fields to remove barriers to patenting and utilizing available resources for global gain.
  
• For example, blockchain technology is being used to store and sort vast amounts of data related to viral DNA genome sequencing.
  
• Countries and industry bodies must act now to establish open, ethical, and interoperable systems with sound standards.