The internet is always evolving. It started with people just posting static documents online for others to read. Then forums and email gained widespread usage and people began having discussions on the internet. Security protocols were developed that allowed ecommerce. Then Web 2.0 came along and the internet became interactive and web pages began behaving more like computer applications. Then the rise of mobile smartphones changed the internet again.
The technological developments of the last decade—virtual reality, metaverse, cryptocurrencies, NFTs, artificial intelligence—were not passing fads. They are here to stay, and they will define the next version of the internet.
Virtual Reality and the Metaverse
The internet we use today is defined by two-dimensional spaces; it is a series of flat web pages linked together in a vast, tangled web. Virtual reality (VR) will add depth to each web page.
If a website today is a book with a series of web pages, think of the website of the future as being a building with a series of rooms. Where web browsers today presents the internet in two dimensions, VR in the future will present the internet in three dimensions. Where the World Wide Web (WWW) today is structured as a flat web, the Metaverse of the future will be structured more like a three-dimensional sphere of interconnections.
Each web page in the next internet will be like a three-dimensional room, where you can see individual collections of information at different spatial locations. For example, a “web page” may look like a person’s office. Some pictures are hanging on the walls. The desk has some papers with notes written on them. There is a bookshelf with a few books on it. A whiteboard next to the desk has some important and recent messages written on it. As a visitor to the “web page,” you can look around the office and examine any part of it more closely. You can even pull a book off the shelf and start reading. The hyperlinks of the old internet will become teleports (“hyperjumps”?) in the new internet, and the office will offer its own suggestions of other rooms you should teleport to next.
Cryptocurrencies and NFTs
The underlying technology behind cryptocurrencies and NFTs is blockchain. Blockchain technology can fundamentally change the internet.
Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have the potential to become the de facto global currency of the internet.
Remember the NFT fad a few years ago? The technologies and concepts behind NFTs were groundbreaking, but perhaps ahead of its time. Selling digital collectable artwork is not the best use of the technology.
I envision a future internet where cryptocurrency wallets are integrated seamlessly with web browsers and banking companies. I also see a future internet where every single file is an NFT. That will enable a thriving market for digital content like ebooks, information, artwork, music, and other creative creations. Embracing NFTs within the basic architecture of the internet would enable copyright protection, make it easy to verify legitimacy of content, and control distribution, among other benefits.
Artificial Intelligence
The future internet could have interactive artificial intelligence (AI) avatars at each location. The AI avatars can be trained to act a certain way and have a certain set of knowledge according to what the web page creator wants.
A typical “web page” in this new internet would have at least one AI avatar you can talk to. You can use natural language to text or voice chat with the avatar, just as you would interact with ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. The AI avatar would have specific knowledge tailored to the “web page” content.
Closing thoughts
I envision this new internet to be about ten years out. This internet would be multi-modal, allowing people to interact with it using mobile phones, desktop computers, head-mounted displays, and even smart watches.
One intuitive way to lay out the metaverse would be to model it after the real world. If you own a home in the real world, you would own an equivalent plot of land in the virtual world. When you buy things in the real world, it would include an NFT version of it for the virtual world. Such a metaverse would have parallels with the real world, yet it would be a very different experience.
The problem I see with recent attempts at building “metaverses” is that they miss the point. They become glorified video games that are mere novelties and entertainment for its users. To truly embrace the full potential of all of these great new technologies, we need to build a metaverse that encourages people to create content and share it with others within the metaverse. The created content needs to be useful enough that it can be sold, and others would want to buy it. In a capitalist society like the internet has become, the biggest driver of growth would be opportunities to profit. Create a metaverse that is useful to people and provide opportunities to profit, and it will grow exponentially.
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