Tim Berners-Lee is the one behind the World Wide Web.
This is an individual who made a tremendous contribution to the world. It was his innovation that could be pointed to as the one of the major moves that made the Internet eligible for mass adoption.
He was interviewed to celebrate the 35th anniversary of his creation. He is credited with developing it in 1989.
To give some insight, Berners-Lee see the same thing we regularly discuss and is not really happy about the way things turned out. He is vocal about the siloed system things turned into and how people have no control over their data or most of what they create.
In this article, we will go through the three prediction he makes along with talking about how Web 3.0 plays into this.
Tim Berners-Lee 3 Predictions For The Internet
In an article posted on CNBC, Berners-Lee issued three predictions as to where he sees things going. It is very interesting to get the thoughts of someone who is not only so acclaimed in the industry but one who is thinking of things are the granular level.
A big part of his work, something that still continues to this day, deals with the flow of information. As we discussed, the siloed system goes against what he spent his career seeking. He believes removing the intermediaries while allowing the free flow of information is crucial.
So let us look at his predictions:
1. Everyone will have a personal AI assistant
This is not a stretch with how things are going. In fact, this is something that could happen rather quickly.
We are seeing the advancement of LLMs occurring at a very rapid pace. Ignoring whether this will lead to AGI or not, we can see how the ability to interact with humans in a language they understand is crucial.
It also feeds directly into the idea of a personal AI assistant.
In fact, we already see the basis of that with companies such as Google. They have developed features that are tied together. This means that one's schedule, maps, videos watched, and surfing habits are all tracked. These are analyzed and used to provide the "personal" experience.
At the moment, the technology is lacking. There will come a time, however, where the AI assistant will notice that a meeting is scheduled on the 30th in another state, and nothing was booked. The assistant will then take care of ordering the plane tickets and booking the hotel room.
The question here is who controls the AI assistant? If mega-tech has its way, we know the answer.
2. We’ll take true ownership of our data across all platforms — including VR
This is one that comes, perhaps, from a place of bias.
Berners-Lee is working on a pod system for the Internet.
Here is how he described it:
So, rather than handing away ownership of our data to Google, Meta, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and other tech giants, we’ll instead be able to own our data through a data store, or “pod.”
“You’ll think of your data pod as your digital space, you’ll think of it as being one thing you’re very comfortable with,” Berners-Lee explains.
This is in lieu of the present system and companies we are so accustomed to dealing with. Those entities might still be providing a host of services yet the data will be handled differently.
Obviously, there is a lot of architecture required to fulfill this vision. It is a 35 year timeline which means it is possible. The fact that Berners-Lee has been at this concept for a long time means he is aware of how far it progressed.
Basically, his vision is one where there is a seamless transition between whatever one is doing since all the data he or she has is housed and available. This means switching from VR to some type of mixed reality without missing a beat.
3. A Big Tech company could get broken up
This is easy to see especially since the EU is already laying out regulation in this area. It is also something that is aligned with the history of governments. They tend to approach monopolies in this manner, often not realizing the fallout.
They say the one constant is life is change. Actually, a case could be made the one thing that has not changed over the centuries are politicians. They are the same today as in the Roman Senate.
Breaking up a major technology company will provide talking points on television yet, ultimately, do nothing. This will likely only slow the process of advancement down and push it to another area. We are dealing with a global situation with entities from many countries.
Another factor is things are changing rapidly. This is one drawback to governments: they are slow.
An example is search. Google is the unrivaled leader in that realm. However, this might be non-relevant in a few years if chatbots start to garner more "searches". Of course, there will be monopolies forming with that technology also.
This is another prediction we can see coming true if someone is trying to make a statement.
Where does Web 3.0 fit in
Notice we are using Web 3.0 and not Web3.
What Berners-Lee is describing is a Web 3.0 concept. He mentioned mixed reality and artificial intelligence. In fact, one of his core views is the Internet is going to be increasingly less for people. Ultimately, it will be a bunch of AI interacting with each other.
Going back to the reservation example, an individual's personal AI will interact with the company AI, booking what is needed. No human intervention required.
When it comes to data ownership, blockchain is what many are focusing upon. Cryptocurrency is also, in my opinion, going to be a part of this since the transfer of value is required. Why would my AI pay for a plane ticket using my Visa card? What about when it has to order something from an entity that doesn't accept that?
Also, when I hear "ownership", I think NFTs. Here is where we can easily see a tie into what he is describing.
As always, nothing operates in a vacuum. What we are involved in is part of a much larger picture. This is about networks and how they interact with each other. For Berners-Lee, and many others, the controlling networks are a major part of the problem.
Web3 provides a mechanism whereby information can flow with less friction. This is something that mega-tech does not really offer.
Does this agree with Berners-Lee view? I think it does, at least in principle. He naturally might have a different viewpoint on how to get there but the same values are being expressed.
As always, the conversation is centered around data. Here is where we see it at the core of what his work is focused upon.
Who controls it? Who has access? Can I be cut off from it? How is it utilized?
These are all questions people are asking and, unfortunately, not liking the answers. At present, it is a "just deal with it" situation since we have few alternatives.
In 35 years, for those still around, this could change. We can, however, expect many fights along the way.