In response to the new centralization, is Web 3.0 the future?

Artificial Intelligence's Long-Term Threat to Humanity

Are you worrying? In the long-term challenge and threat of artificial intelligence to human beings (qq.com) , I discussed the further development of artificial intelligence. After the people involved in production are replaced by machines, the people lose their power and become social appendages that lose their social value. Wealth, capital, and even power are concentrated in the hands of a very few. Human beings are divided into two poles, the vast majority of people at the bottom lose everything, and the very few at the top become a god-like race. AI-driven automation, which squeezes people out of the production process, has accelerated the process. This is what is happening under the current social system. Artificial intelligence liberates people from manual work and even work, which is the progress of social development. But in order to avoid the differentiation of human beings and the control of society by a few capitals, we need a new way of social organization.

The Internet attracts new totalitarianism and faces new challenges

On the other hand, the development of the Internet is also facing new challenges. Tim Berners-Lee of the United Kingdom, then a computer scientist at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), created the Internet 30 years ago. Networks are designed to share information and form the Internet by connecting computing devices together. The emergence of the Internet has made it easier for individuals to obtain knowledge and information, thereby making social power more decentralized. At the end of the 20th century, the utopian equality and harmony envisioned by the Internet seemed within reach. Then came the rise of social media (also known as "Web 2.0"), which brought humans online in addition to connecting information. The rise of social networks has further promoted the technological progress of society. The development of social network technology has created a large amount of social wealth, but also made wealth and power concentrated in the hands of a very small number of people again. Internet companies, including Google, Facebook, Tencent, etc., have grown into Internet giants. These companies have made huge fortunes in the process. These centralized network services, while providing convenience for people, also build their own information "islands". Now if a person wants to provide a software service for the majority of iPhone users, it is inevitable to pay the so-called "Apple tax" of 30% to Apple. What's more worrying is that these web giants are starting to accumulate massive amounts of user data. Driven by data and new data analysis technologies, these Internet giants have begun to mine personal information, push content of interest, and place advertisements intelligently. Even businesses like Facebook even sell personal information. The growth of wealth and data processing power has given these social networking companies even more power than the company can obtain, such as Facebook, Youtube, to decide whether a person's speech is appropriate or not, and that information is likely to be harmful to the public. "Untrue news" is blocked on its platform. In other words, many companies began to have authority. In information silos, a company's capabilities can even surpass that of the president of the United States. Former U.S. President Trump launched a lawsuit this year to sue Facebook, Google and Twitter for blocking him[1]. The specifics are not discussed here, but the case makes one have to worry about the enormous power wielded by social platforms.

Web 3.0 is a technology and a platform

At this time, Web 3.0 comes on the scene, aiming to build a new decentralized network world using Blockchain technology that drives virtual currency. It is worth mentioning that at present, Blockchain and virtual currency have grown into a digital currency system worth 70 billion US dollars and have the largest computer cluster network in the world. Unlike Alipay and WeChat Pay, virtual currency does not depend on the existing banking system and can independently conduct payment transactions through the Internet. For the first time, virtual currency embeds the economic system into the Internet. As a new trend of the Internet, Web 3.0 provides a decentralized virtual world. In it, users can cooperate and interact without relying on a specific database in the center. Blockchain technology will design a new user-centric network system through encryption technology, smart contracts, distributed storage and other technologies. This system is like a system designed for creators, which is more inclusive, eliminates or reduces bias, and provides creators with a technology platform for information distribution and value feedback.

In the tide of creator economy, creators need more power

Today, more than 50 million people consider themselves creators, and 2 million of them are professional creators. From YouTubers, to Bloggers, to Podcasters, to Online Educators, to Artists, to Videographers, to Instagramers, to Twitchers, and most recently TikTokers 2 . The number of creators is expected to double in the next 5-10 years -- from 50 million today to more than 100 million by the early 2030s. As the number of creators increases, creators also begin to pay attention to the rules of these existing platforms and are dissatisfied with many problems with existing platforms. On Youtube, many YouTubers were dissatisfied with YouTube's policies, quit and started looking for new platforms.

Recently popular Web 2.0 platforms such as Patreon (launched in 2013) and OnlyFans (launched in 2016) are paving the way for a more direct consumption experience between creators and their fans. Patreon currently has over 200,000 creators on its platform, supported by over 7 million patrons. The creators of these platforms were not controlled by the early Web 2.0 platforms -- from the type of content allowed to be published, to the kinds of advertisements displayed on their work. This type mode gives creators more control. Yet even with these theoretically "built for creators" platforms, the platforms themselves still get the lion's share of creator profits and act as an intermediary between creators and their communities. As existing Web 2.0 platforms continue their market leadership, the next generation of creators are now looking for alternatives that will serve them best and allow them to put their user base first instead of Play by the rules of the platform where their content may be hosted.

With the transfer of power to creators, new, decentralized platforms will emerge where control lies not only with creators, but also with the communities they foster. Instead of raising funds through Patreon, creators can mint their own social tokens on the decentralized social platform and fully own their content. All this depends on the new tools and ideas provided by virtual currency and its related industries. Web 3.0 will provide the tools for the emergence of new platforms.

The governance of cyberspace can be based on consensus, rather than a company's vision or regulations

On November 18, an auction [3] in New York, USA, auctioned off the first printed version of the U.S. Constitution. After the American Revolutionary War, the representatives of the 13 colonies met together to draft the constitution, which served as the foundation of the nation's founding. After the constitution was passed, 500 copies were printed for delegates to take back to the states. There are 13 copies left, and this auction is one of the private collections. A blockchain enthusiast saw this. Chatting in the group at night, he mentioned something casually, and someone said, "Let's raise money to participate!" Everyone heard it and thought it was very interesting. Through the blockchain, he raised funds from netizens all over the world to bid for an antique. No one has done this before, so let's try it out and prove that the technology has this potential.

First of all, they set up an organization on the blockchain called "Constitution DAO", which is equivalent to a project company to be responsible for this matter. The organization has set up a website, ConstitutionDAO. Com [4], with a single page (below) that explains the whole thing. The first step is to raise funds. They used a crowdfunding service called Juicebox [5]. The service writes each project's contract into the blockchain and provides a wallet to receive funds. All those who provide funds will receive the tokens of the project as proof of investment and enjoy corresponding rights and interests. In order to convince more people that the project organizer will not run away with the money, a credible account is needed. Then they adopted a "blockchain safe" called Gnosis Safe[6]. As long as the funds are transferred into its account, they cannot be withdrawn. If you want to withdraw, you must designate multiple administrators for the account in advance, and set a withdrawal threshold. For example, 10 administrators must have more than 5 consents (digital signatures) at the same time to transfer funds. The "Constitutional DAO" uses it to hold funds, ensuring that funds are only used if the majority agrees.

After this is done, the project begins to raise funds. The original fundraising target was $20 million. It was later raised to $35 million. By the end of the auction day, they had received a total of 11,601 ETH, each with a market price of about $4,000 or more, so the total amount was about $47 million. Bidding on the auction day was fierce, and the "Constitutional DAO" was at odds with a rich man. When the price was raised to 40 million US dollars, the "Constitutional DAO" decided to give up, because above this price, even if it was sold, the remaining funds were not enough to pay for the preservation and transportation of the cultural relics.

The first printed version of the U.S. Constitution sold for $43 million. Although the "Constitutional DAO" was unsuccessful, it still made history and proved that blockchain-based project fundraising is feasible. These investors are located all over the world and are unknown to each other. After the auction failed, all the funds were returned the same way. All of this is because of the blockchain. The initiators of "Constitutional DAO" are ordinary people, without power or power, and the tools used are ready-made public services, and they do not need to be developed by themselves. Anyone can use the same tools to raise funds for their own projects, and I think that's what this thing is about, showing the financial revolution that blockchain brings. More importantly, individuals with common beliefs are organized through the network and use blockchain finance to compete with corporate giants, demonstrating the power of consensus.

Summarize

The rise of related technologies such as blockchain and virtual currency will help to establish a new decentralized network architecture, which may become a new development trend of the future network, namely Web 3.0. In this distributed network, creators will is the main driver of the network. Network consensus will become an effective way to manage the network and deal with emergencies. Consensus is not a referendum, nor is the majority representing the minority, but a way to bring together a group of active people based on a common philosophy to deal with challenges such as network centralization.

[1]: Trump sues Facebook, Twitter and Google over social media bans | Donald Trump News | Al Jazeera

[3]: Auction: https://www.sothebys.com/en/digital-catalogues/the-constitution-of-the-united-states

[4]: Webpage ConstitutionDAO. Com: https://www.constitutiondao.com/

[5]: Juicebox: https://juicebox.money/

[6]: Gnosis Safe: https://gnosis-safe.io/