Screw Web3 – my decentralized web has no blockchain
Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee wants to save his creation from centralization. But does he abide by Web3’s promise of salvation?
At the TNW conference, the computer scientist gave an answer in one word:
“No.”
Regards, humanoids
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That guy may seem to clash with Berners-Lee’s recent actions. The 67-year-old is now campaigning to save his “dysfunctional” brain child from Big Tech’s clutches.
He has also earned $ 5.4 million by selling an NFT – one of Web3’s supposed pillars.
But the British have their own vision for the Internet’s successor: a decentralized architecture that gives users control over their data.
Berners-Lee wants to build it on a platform he calls Solid – but you can call it the Web 3.0.
“We talked about it as Web 3.0 at one point, because Web 2.0 was a term used for malfunction in what happens to user-generated content on the major platforms,” he said.
“People have called it Web 2.0, so if you want to call it Web 3.0, fine and good.”
On the blockchain, it just does not work.
Berners-Lee shares Web3’s alleged mission to transfer data from Big Tech to the people. But he takes a different path to the goal.
While Web3 is based on blockchain, Solid is built with standard network tools and open specifications.
Private information is stored in decentralized data warehouses called “pods”, which can be hosted where the user wants. They can then choose which apps can access their data.
This approach aims to provide interoperability, speed, scalability and privacy.
“When you try to build those things on the blockchain, it just does not work,” Berners-Lee said.
Berners-Lee says that Solid serves two separate purposes. One prevents companies from misusing our data for unwanted purposes, from manipulating voters to generating clickbait.
The other provides opportunities to take advantage of our information.
For example, health data can be shared across reliable services to improve our treatment and support medical research.
In the meantime, our photos can be delivered to Facebook friends, LinkedIn colleagues and Flickr followers without having to upload the photos to each platform.
This evokes Berners-Lee’s original goal of making the web a collaborative tool.
“I wanted to be able to solve problems when part of the solution is in my head and part of the solution is in your head and you are on the other side of the planet – connected to the internet,” he said.
“It was the kind of thing I wanted the web for. It took off more as a publishing medium – but not everything is lost.”
Solid has not yet proven to be an effective remedy, but the father of the network still believes that his wayward children can get back on track.
