Web 3.0 [UPSC Notes]

Web 3.0 has emerged as a revolution in the field of technology giving rise to decentralised information sharing. 

This is an important topic for the UPSC exam science and technology segment. In this article, you can read all about this emerging technology.

Web 3.0

Internet in the present context is highly centralised and lies under the control of a few entities. This makes the internet offer a low level of privacy and lower control for a person over his/her content. Here, the web is monopolised by large technology entities. In comparison to this, web 3 is decentralised and works on blockchain technology. It offers a high degree of privacy and security to the user. 

How is Web 3.0 different from other technologies?

The Web or World Wide Web (WWW)  is a collection of web pages or websites stored in web servers and connected to local computers through the internet.

• WEB 1 is the genesis of the internet. It aimed to enable the internet user to establish contact with people across the world. The basic shortcoming of this system was it offered little scope for interaction among the people. Thus, it was a read-only web. 

Soure: etherum.org

 Image: WEB 1  

• Web 2.0: It was an improvement over the read only memory. It offered the scope of read and write. It offered the scope for user-to-user interaction. As more and more people came online, they generated a huge amount of data that was monopolised by big companies. This gave them a disproportionate advantage over the other tech companies and users. Web 2.0 also birthed the advertising-driven revenue model.

Source: ethereum.org

 Image: WEB 2.0

• Web 3.0: It uses a decentralised system and makes use of blockchain technology for functioning. The term web 3.0 was coined by Gavin Wood, founder of blockchain technology company Ethereum, in 2014. Web 3 offers a layer of advantages:
• Decentralised: In web 3.0, ownership of the content is distributed among a large group of people instead of being owned by a single person. 
• Permissionless: It is based on a distributed system where everyone has access over the content generated by the users. 
• Native payment system: It uses cryptocurrencies for sending money and receiving payments. It uses state-of-the-art technology instead of relying upon outdated systems. 
• Trust: It operates on incentivising and economic mechanisms instead of over-dependence upon third party endorsement. 

Source: ethereum.org

Image: WEB 3.0 

Web 3.0 Advantages

The advantages of Web 3.0 are given below.

• Ownership: It gives ownership of assets to its users. Here, the service provider himself cannot take away the ownership of the users. Thus, it offers a high degree of security to the users. 
• Censorship resistance: Here, data lives on the internet. When the user leaves the platform they can carry away their data with themselves. 
• Decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs): Along with data the user also owns the platform in the web 3.0 platform. It is done through a token that reflects a share of the company. It enables the user to make decisions about the future of the company.  
• Identity:  Many sites are in possession of the identity of its user. But, in the case of web 3.0, the user can take control of their data. 
• Native payments: Web 2.0 payment infrastructure relies on bank infrastructure. On the other hand, Web 3.0 uses a token (like Ethereum) for transactions. 

Challenges to Web 3.0

• It is an emerging technology and still in the nascent stages. Some experts in the field have expressed their scepticism over web 3.0.
• It requires a deviation from the current architecture of back end, middle layer and front end.
• Its architecture requires back-end technology for handling blockchain, indexing data in blockchain, etc.

Conclusion: Web 3.0 is an evolving technology that requires advancement in the field of technology and the up-gradation of resources.

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