Web 2 is known as the generation of Web that mainly starts with the revolution traditional social media platforms brought to the internet.
For a long enough time, people from the crypto sphere have called themselves Web 3, to represent the next generation of Web, and sometimes as a reaction to the bad practices that are widespread in Web 2:
- control
- censorship
- manipulation
- the user doesn't have any power over their data, interactions, and account, other than what the platforms allow them; they don't own anything, the platforms do
It's interesting that, despite Web 3 having elements of censorship resistance (Hive), and users can own their assets and accounts, all above issues above can and are still present in Web 3, if we consider the entire crypto sphere as Web 3 (which is more than inclusive). The issues often appear due to a lack of understanding, caring, or interest in mitigating these issues. Or even not acknowledging they are problems, and re-introducing them when they weren't possible initially.
Web 2 was about social media, as a force that grew the internet to new heights. We should be realistic, Web 3 will have a social component to it, we won't stop being social all of a sudden, but it will be much more than that. The financial component seems logical after we look at the relatively successful combination of the two on Hive. And I'm sure many chains would like to think of Web 3 just through the prism of financial transactions and asset creation/distribution/owning, which can be limiting.
Like AI or not, we cannot deny that it will play an extensive role in Web 3. It's already playing some critical roles in Web 2.
Regarding AIs, some people viscerally hate them already. I am not one of them. What I do worry about though is that we are too profit-oriented, in a hurry (and thus careless), or even ill-intended to stop when things go wrong or slow down long enough to see the effects on humanity and analyze them long-term. Plus, how the AGI will see humanity. Will it be like we see chimpanzees? Or more like cockroaches? From the difference in intelligence, we will be more like the latter, at some point.
Anyway, thinking at the rate of growth AI currently has, it will be hard to keep up in the Web 3 "race" (not a race, in my opinion, more like synergy of domains). But probably we will say Web 3 is AI and Crypto in at most a few years.
Interesting illusion, I guess we will see plenty of them with AI generating them.
And that's before the "internet of things" will be ready, and your fridge's AI will talk with your car's AI, to tell it to stop by the drive-through mini-market, because you are out of milk. It also talks to the teller at the drive-through to place the order (also an AI), which talks to a small robot that brings the milk up front. Finally, your fridge talks to your wallet, to pay for the milk. Or at least that's one of the advertisements. Cool or creepy? Where in the equation are you? We assume you drank the milk. Did you? 😀
Hmm, why did I say milk? Couldn't have I said tomatoes? What would Seth Godin do if cows were boycotted (already are in various places) for pollution reasons? I'm sure purple cows perfectly recycle gas exhausts. Even more, they produce ozone. Do I need to say I am joking, and maybe am a bit sarcastic over here?