While it’s been a very long time, the original dream of the early internet echoes some of the same goals that have become common themes among the Web3 pioneers. Tim Berners-Lee, a British computer scientist and one of the fathers of the original internet, laid out his vision for this new network of computers that could talk to each other, exchange information, and create a seamless ecosystem that spread across the globe. Tim and the early community wanted this new system to have incredibly bold and revolutionary characteristics. Specifically, the internet should be decentralized so that censoring could not take place, anyone could take part, and the system could not be brought down by system failures or a purposeful effort. The system should be designed so that not only should it not discriminate, but that it would be unable to do so (net neutrality). The system should be built using a bottom-up design to maximize inclusiveness, the popularity of ideas that work, but should be designed with a foundation of agreed upon standards and languages so that this bottom-up design remains seamless.
Sound familiar? You could read this and mistake it for a modern day whitepaper for Web3, because essentially, we are still working toward those things.
Let’s look at what has gone wrong with Web2 and its drifting from these dreams, how Web3 could take the necessary steps to get us there, and show how a Web3 operating system (we will look at the most developed, Andromeda’s aOS) could make it happen without breaking down all the work that has been done by the Web3 community.
Web3’s Journey So Far
The first question should probably be, “Has Web3 achieved this dream?”. Sadly, not yet. However, the underlying architecture and basic mechanisms of Web3 do promise to further decentralize our internet, make it censor-resistant (possibly censor proof), and be open for anyone to take part.
The biggest problem, however, is that Web3 was built from the ground up (good) but without a strong consensus of the standards and common building blocks needed to make it seamless. What has occurred instead is that major chains have been established, with the biggest being Bitcoin and Ethereum, and many other smaller but growing chains have been founded either on one set of these standards, or have chosen to create their own. While some token standards are mostly universal, the way chains, consensus methods, messaging services, asset transfer, and many other elements are approached is fundamentally different between chains. The optimistic side of this is that many of the methods used to build different chains are not worlds apart, and a number of technologies have been built as “translators” to allow for cross-bridge traffic. Unfortunately, this is not an efficient means of creating a massive ecosystem, and this approach has created many different cost implications and security risks. While interpretation platforms have helped keep much of Web3 connected, it simply isn’t as stable or as scalable as it needs to be. Ecosystems within a Layer 1, especially Ethereum, continue to grow and do have the ability to connect with each other. Even this, however, involves technical solutions requiring entire teams of developers to first build their platforms, and then to connect with others.
We Can’t Move Forward, We Can’t Go Back
Just based on how much Web3 has grown and how many billions of dollars in value are at stake, we are far past the point of sitting down the leading thinkers to discuss common standards for building and growth. The good news is, the ability for networks to develop consensus methods, to build up smart contracts and create a trustless and autonomous system, and the ability for entire multi-million dollar platforms to be both owned and operated by their communities—this is incredible. But we are now stuck. We can’t keep patching the network to reach out to other networks, creating major weaknesses in the system and inviting hackers and authoritarian actors who are against a free and open system. One solution for this could stem from some of Berners-Lee’s greatest inventions.
Berners-Lee developed common elements to be used by anyone working to develop their little slice of the internet: HTML, the language to display websites; URLs, the locations for these items; and HTTP, the language for these resources to communicate.
The concept of a Web3 operating system could follow this same structure, creating common building blocks that existing networks could use to build onto themselves, and to also communicate seamlessly with each other. These elements would need to be used by the majority of entities in order to create cohesion, so the learning curve of the system would need to be easy and the benefits would need to be significant.
This idea is actually in the works, and the leading platform for the progress is Andromeda, as their aOS platform is about to launch as a Mainnet. The aOS follows a similar structure of what allowed the internet to be bottoms-up while staying connected. The core of this idea are standalone building blocks called Andromeda Digital Objects (ADOs), which are chunks of code that can accomplish many different common tasks. These ADOs are meant to accomplish two goals: drastically speed up development (and eliminate much of the coding expertise needed), and function as common building blocks so that dApps could feasibly be deployed or interact on any chain. There is still room for the customizable development, but a platform could utilize a fraction of the developers needed for a dApp using current tools. Seeing as how there is a major shortage of Web3 developer talent, this comes at an opportune time.
The ADOs are built into dApps and platforms, which then use a common language called Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC), transporting data back and forth in a lightweight, secure manner. While the aOS is currently housed in Cosmos, the expansion of this methodology will expand across Web3, giving the growing number of chains, platforms, and dApps the ability to connect from one point to another, anywhere in the Web3 universe, without the user needing to take any additional action, pay any additional fee, or even be aware of what is happening under the hood.
Closing Thoughts
Today we interact with websites, users, and other entities on Web2. We don’t have to know where a given website is hosted. We don’t have to worry about fees to communicate. We don’t have to be concerned that certain sites might be in a location that is inefficient. While not perfect, the internet of today is certainly well connected. We need to bring this same level of connection to our Web3 ecosystem, where we can merge together the seamlessness of Web2 with the true decentralization and freedom we’ve created in Web3.
Image credit: neskue by Midjourney