While many people still don't understand Web3.0, this week the European Commission passed a new strategic document on Web4.0 and the virtual world. The release of this document is the first formal government organization in the world to regard Web4.0 as a development goal. It is also the first time that Web4.0 has become known to the general public.
In fact, as followers of the cryptocurrency circle, many people are like us. They were not clear about the concept of Web4.0 before. Most people still focus on Web3.0 and may not pay attention to Web4.0. However, the Internet has undergone great changes from 1.0 to now. When new things emerge, the first thing we should do is not to rush to oppose or agree, but to look at the new things behind them before making further judgments.
Analysis of the development history of the Internet
The Internet has currently developed into three stages, from Web1.0 to Web3.0, which we will introduce one by one.
Web 1.0 is what we often call the readable Internet. Most web page content is static. The most typical ones are various portals and news sites. We are content receivers, just like reading books and newspapers. We can only passively accept the latest information and things. Of course, the most fundamental function of the Internet is the transmission of information. Therefore, the emergence of Email has enabled people to communicate with others in their own circles. We believe that this also laid the groundwork for Web 2.0.
Web2 is a readable and writable Internet, which means that we can start to publish our own content on websites, such as post bars, forums, shopping platforms, live broadcasts, short video websites, etc. From private transmission of email messages to anyone being able to publish information on public websites, this also means that people can express their own information on the Internet. Websites are more often labeled as "platforms". Platforms rarely actively create content and information. Most information and content are created by users. This is also the uniqueness of Web2. Similarly, Web2 has also begun to see value-related activities, such as commodity shopping, online transactions, and content monetization, but the centralized model has not changed.
Web3 is a way to change the Internet through blockchain, realize value transfer, and confirm value through various DApps. For example, various swap trading platforms, NFT small pictures, encrypted wallets and the ownership of various data are all based on wallets. People can buy and sell original things on the blockchain, truly realizing free transactions. Personal information truly belongs to the creator himself, not the platform. Therefore, we can see that our assets can be displayed on multiple platform websites, and our decentralized social account avatars can be displayed on multiple platforms. Because DApp reads this information of users through the chain, it breaks the barrier problem we often talk about and realizes application interconnection.
At this stage, blockchain in Web3 is actually cooperating with multiple industries and changing production relations, such as the combination of blockchain and AI, the integration of blockchain and the Internet of Things, or the combination of blockchain and the metaverse. This is also in preparation for the upcoming Web4.0.
What is a trusted blockchain?
This time, the EU's Web4.0 officially combines trusted blockchain with AI/IoT/metaverse/XR/ambient intelligence to form an open, decentralized, and fully user-sovereign emerging network.
From the literal meaning, we can see that the word blockchain has changed to trusted blockchain, while descriptions such as XR and ambient intelligence have been added, and AI and the Internet of Things have also been integrated into it.
Many people may have heard of the concept of trusted blockchain for the first time. Trusted blockchain is essentially a type of blockchain. Simply put, it ensures that the environment in which the blockchain runs is secure and cannot be tampered with. Of course, this may be difficult for some people to understand. In layman's terms, the software and hardware facilities, nodes, data, and codes required to run the blockchain are all without any problems. Such a blockchain will be trusted by everyone.
So is the corresponding public chain a trusted blockchain? Here, the author personally thinks that it may not be. For example, Bitcoin has the 51 attack problem, which is also a problem in many blockchains. When the number of malicious nodes is greater than the normal nodes, the blockchain is untrustworthy and cannot be a trusted blockchain. In addition, people have also proposed emerging attack methods such as long-range attacks in POS blockchains. In other words, the public chain is not completely trustworthy, but the value carried is often less than the cost of the attack. Assuming that people are profit-seeking, this type of attack may cause the attacker to suffer a great loss. Therefore, generally speaking, no one is willing to attack, but this does not mean that the public chain is completely trustworthy.
However, trusted blockchain is actually an ideal goal. For example, the Trusted Blockchain Promotion Plan established by China Academy of Information and Communications Technology and more than 100 units and enterprises is actually a plan to achieve a goal of complete trust in blockchain in all aspects. Of course, some alliance chains name themselves as trusted blockchains. In essence, they audit the participants of this chain through other means to prevent the free participation of nodes in the operation of public chains, thereby achieving "trustworthiness". This has become a type of alliance chain, but the author believes that whether this form is truly trustworthy is still unknown and requires continuous exploration.
If more Web4.0 is to be applied on a large scale, alliance chain may indeed be a direction worth considering, which is also in line with the tone of official organizations such as the European Union.
Another is to integrate trusted blockchain with AI, ambient intelligence/XR, metaverse and the Internet of Things. In fact, except for AI which is a new term added this year, the other items were proposed in the currency circle in previous years or before. At that time, people incorporated them into Web3.0, and this time the EU incorporated it into Web4.0. This is also one of the fundamental differences.
If we look at the details, it may be difficult to understand that Web4.0 is achieved by integrating blockchain with multiple technologies. In fact, at present, Web3.0 has not been fully developed, and it is a bit premature to propose Web4.0.
Is it appropriate to propose Web4.0 now?
Currently, the most widely used applications in Web3.0 are cryptocurrency transactions, NFT blockchain games, and DeFi transactions. However, apart from several mainstream cryptocurrencies that have survived multiple bull and bear cycles, it is still uncertain whether other DApps can survive multiple rounds of bull and bear cycles, because decentralized DApps were only born in 2017, and were in a period of rapid development from 20 to 21. From 22 to now, they have been affected by the bear market and have not yet developed on a large scale. For Web1 and Web2, star companies in each stage have survived for a long time, and have a large number of influences and user groups. For Web3, it is still in its early stages and has not yet reached the level of large-scale application. Therefore, it is not appropriate to discuss Web4.0 when Web3 is immature.
The concept of Web4.0 is currently more like a "hodgepodge" produced by the simple integration of emerging technologies. There is no in-depth thinking and clear solutions to the current problems of Web3, but a rush to propose a new Internet world. This itself does not conform to the law of technological development. People tend to find problems from the previous Internet, and then introduce new solutions and ideas based on these problems. Then the new solutions and ideas are applied to multiple refined tracks, thus creating a new network paradigm, such as the emergence of Web2 and Web3. However, this is not the case with the EU's Web4.0.
For example, the integration of blockchain and IoT/AI proposed in Web4.0. In fact, some individual projects had already explored the integration of blockchain and IoT a few years ago before the concept of Web3 was proposed. The integration of blockchain and XR, which we now call the metaverse, was also proposed by everyone in 2021. AI has been developed by OpenAI since the end of last year and has received attention this year. At the same time, the process of integration of some blockchain projects with AI is also continuing. The currency circle tends to classify these into the category of Web3, which is also easier for everyone to understand.
Summarize
As for the EU's Web4.0 document, it is actually more inclined to hype the concept rather than really thinking about the changes that blockchain has brought to the public. Web3 is still in progress, and most people in the world have not yet enjoyed the convenience brought by Web3. At the same time, blockchain infrastructure still has a long way to go. The impossible triangle is still the direction of exploration for many project parties. The proposal of Web4.0 is more like an official department expressing its support for emerging things. As for the changes brought about by technology, it still takes a lot of time to accumulate.