Web 3 is the third generation of the evolution of web technologies. Web 3 is still evolving and being defined, and as such, there isn't a canonical, universally accepted definition. What is clear, though, is that Web 3 will have a strong emphasis on decentralized applications and make extensive use of blockchain-based technologies. Web 3 will also make use of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to help empower more intelligent and adaptive applications.

How does Web 3 work?

With Web 1 and Web 2 technologies, Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) defines the layout and delivery of webpages. HTML will continue to be a foundational layer with Web 3, but how it connects to data sources and where those data sources reside could be somewhat different than earlier generations of the web.

Many websites and nearly all applications in the Web 2 era rely on some form of centralized database to deliver data and help to enable functionality. With Web 3, instead of a centralized database, applications and services make use of a decentralized blockchain. With blockchain, the basic idea is that there isn't an arbitrary central authority, but rather a form of distributed consensus.

An emerging governance ideal within the blockchain and Web 3 community is the concept of a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Instead of having a central authority that governs the operations of a platform, with a DAO, Web 3 technologies and communities provide a form of self-governance in an attempted decentralized approach.

Web 3 also fundamentally works with cryptocurrency, more so than with fiat currency. Finance and the ability to pay for goods and services with a decentralized form of payment is enabled across Web 3 with the use of cryptocurrencies, which are all built and enabled on top of blockchain technology.

Web 3 Features

Web 3 may be constructed with AI, semantic web and ubiquitous properties in mind. The idea behind using AI comes from the goal of providing faster, more relevant data to end users. A website using AI should be able to filter through and provide the data it thinks a specific user will find appropriate. Social bookmarking as a search engine can provide better results than Google since the results are websites that have been voted on by users. However, these results can also be manipulated by humans. AI could be used to separate the legitimate results from the falsified, therefore producing results similar to social bookmarking and social media but without bad feedback.

An artificially intelligent web will also introduce virtual assistants, an element that is already emerging today as an aspect built into a device or through third-party apps.

The idea behind the semantic web is to categorize and store information in a way that helps teach a system what specific data means. In other words, a website should be able to understand words put in search queries the same way a human would, enabling it to generate and share better content. This system will also use AI; the semantic web will teach a computer what the data means, and then AI will take the information and use it.