The third-gen web is about public good

Source- The post is based on the article “The third-gen web is about public good” published in “The Hindu” on 27th April 2023.

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News– A 2021 report by the U.S.- India Strategic Partnership Forum states that the third-gen web will be crucial for India to realise its $1.1 trillion digital asset opportunity by 2032.

What are some facts about the third-generation web?

Some experts term the third-gen web as ‘Web3’, while others use the term ‘Web 3.0’.

Web3 is decentralised, privacy-oriented, blockchain-driven and crypto-asset friendly.

Web 3.0 upholds the property of the ‘semantic web,’ which is powered by AI. Semantic web has the ability to recombine information available on different websites to generate new content and knowledge resources that are more authentic and creative.

Followers of Web 3.0 claim that their version has robust capability on the data analytics front. So, it will create far better search engines.

Web3 seeks to radically transform the manner in which data is generated, monetized, shared, and circulated. It advocates decentralized data storage systems.

Web3 has file-sharing systems such as the Interplanetary File System which are cryptographically protected. It is more secure and capable of functioning without the Internet and blockchains. In this manner, Web3 seeks to overcome the data storage barriers of blockchains.

Web3’s boldest element is the strategic role assigned to non- custodial wallets. It functions as digital passports for users to access blockchain-enabled transaction platforms.

These wallets aid the creation of an ownership economy. Here, creators themselves control their content. Fundamentally, they work as digital proof of identity.

Web3 seeks to replace micro-economic organizations with decentralized autonomous organizations.

At a more macro level, it seeks to create a distributed economic system. Here, special classes of native digital tokens and cryptocurrencies would form the media of monetary circulation.

How can India benefit from the third-generation web?

Design-related innovations of India’s handicraft industry are not protected by Intellectual Property rights. The digital tokens minted by Web 3 platforms would enable our handcraft enterprises to secure their innovations.

Web 3-based instruction tools enable the rapid dissemination of grassroots innovations from master artisans to fellow members. It would improve the economic fortunes of craftsmen and artisan communities in north-east, western and peninsular India.

India’s major digital public infrastructure push and the large-scale deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) in rural development projects offer major possibilities for deploying Web 3 in rural areas.

There has been a rapid rise in community data. But this resource remains largely untapped due to a lack of data analytics capabilities at the community level. This limitation can be overcome by Web3 analytics systems.

Web 3.0 can also yield insights from large volumes of community data, generated by IoT-enabled development programmes such as the Jal Jeevan Mission.

Web 3.0’s natural advantage of facilitating ‘analytics at the edge’ provides considerable scope for mapping the water use habits of communities.

Similarly, early warning systems for floods will improve with Web 3.0 due to data analytics facilities being obtained at the sub-basin level. Thus Web 3.0 will have a transformative role in regionally disadvantaged areas.

India’s National Blockchain Strategy 2021 proposes to explore tokenization and apply blockchains solutions for development programmes. A third-gen web strategy can be helpful in achieving it.