Web 4.0 It is next evolutionary leap in the relationship of human beings among themselves and of these with machines through the Internet. Immersed as we are in the development of Web 3.0, it is logical that there are already many people thinking about the next step. No, it is neither Matrix nor .
Peace of mind: at least for a few years the machines will continue to be silly Today’s moms don’t have to become Sarah Connor. and build a bunker to defend against the moment when intelligent machines take over. But beware, people as serious as you have warned that In 100 years things could be very differentand that the advancement of artificial intelligence should be limited.
In the end, we will have to develop the Three Laws of Robotics as, who will have turned out to be a visionary, enunciated them more than 70 years ago:
1. A robot may not harm a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey the orders of a human being, unless they conflict with the 1st Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence, unless it conflicts with the 1st and 2nd Laws.
Although it may seem like bullshit, these Laws are at the base of many software developments for, for example, autonomous cars or drones (not military ones, obviously). But for now let’s forget about science fiction and focus on what the next version of the Internet is preparing for us, and on how that will affect eCommerce.
The road to Web 4.0
To understand what is Web 4.0. we need to define, however briefly, the characteristics of previous iterations of the Web:
- Web 1.0: Source of informationmainly unidirectional, with limited information exchange between devices and with interaction restricted to forms, e-mail, chats and forums. No possibility of horizontal interaction between users. It was the era of “Internet portals” like AltaVista, Yahoo, Ya.com or Terra, from chats like the ancient IRC and from the first blogs. Dare to sell online at that time was an extravagance of adventurers.
- Web 2.0: Social space. Web 2.0 introduces socialization as a fundamental element. Communication becomes bidirectional, both with the creators or disseminators of content and among the users themselves. It is the era of the , of the birth of eCommerce that we know today and of the connections between machines. Internet ceases to be a separate space to become part of everyday life.
- Web 3.0: Multi-device and . Web 3.0 (there is a wide discussion about whether we are in that phase or not) is the dthe use of the Internet as a large database, accessible from any device, interoperable, with semantic standards in publication and access to information that allow “understanding” the meaning of what one says or searches for. It is, above all, the era of mobile phones and apps, of the , of the generalization of connections between machines, of » as a large space for storage and exchange of information.
What is Web 4.0
Web 4.0 It will be the time of “intelligence” at the service of everyday needs. A website that knows us, knows what we want and what we like and offers it to us naturally, without having to make any search efforts. That is where the greats of the Internet are working. It will be the time of those who will take us where we tell them out loud, to obtain immediate answers without the need for further interaction (for example, responding effectively to the order “I want to order a taxi” without the need for further action on our part),
There are already many applications that respond to this pattern, although still in a rudimentary way. We talk about virtual assistants such as , They still have a lot of room to grow and develop.
Web 4.0 points to a revival of the 3D and virtual reality. Unon steroids. The ” (another term coined by science fiction) will be a layer added to reality, in fact it will be part of reality, and device manufacturers and big Internet players are working hard on it.
What can Web 4.0 bring?
Web 4.0 aims close the digital divide extending the field of action of the Internet and its capacity for interaction without having to master a specific way of interacting. You won’t need to use a keyboard if you don’t want to, neither knowing URLs nor probably having to search for them. This implies an investment effort that places Internet access as a basic need and, probably, as a universal right.
All this can bring more equality, more capacity for interaction and more connection between human beingsbut can also have pernicious effects: more control, less privacy, less chance to “escape” and disconnect, greater marginalization of unconnected people in less developed countries. And also greater threats to Net neutrality. is a good example of this: if everyone travels on the Net, the idea of building “toll roads” for payment in exchange for the rest is very tempting for many companies can access for free.
Web 4.0 and eCommerce
eCommerce will not be alien to the coming revolution. In fact, steps are already being taken in this direction: the omnichannel, mobile payments…
It escapes no one that eCommerce is one of the driving factors of Web 4.0. Today no one considers a technological evolution that does not have as its primary or collateral purpose the facilitation of sales through the Internet. most likely the concept of eCommerce separated from physical commerce disappears as suchbecause all our purchases will happen in one way or another through the Internet.
The possibilities opened by technologies such as virtual reality or the intelligent interpretation of natural language in the field of eCommerce they are almost infinite.
Let’s imagine that our mobile reserves the bread or the usual purchase for us, and that we only have to go and pick it up. That by saying “I want to make a chocolate cake with orange” we have at our disposal the ingredients and our favorite recipe, because the network itself will know what it is and where to buy the products we need. That the Network itself knows our criteria and our tastes in fashion, travel, leisure, decoration or (one of the biggest online businesses could not be missing) in sex.
All this regardless of whether we access through Google or Facebook or any other system. That by telling your TV “I want to see Game of Thrones” it knows where to look for it and what chapter you are going for. And how are you, thousands of options. That physical stores identify us when we enter them, in the purest style MinorityReport. What was pure fiction a few years ago is not so today.
Of course, all this will mean trade battles between companies, and even between them and governments, for the dominance of that market, for privacy, they will even redefine the very concept of privacy. There are people who think that all this will mean that we are less human, more dependent on technology and more passive.
Or it could be the other way around: Web 4.0 could be a giant step for routine tasks to be done by themselves and we can spend more time thinking, relating and having fun. All technological revolutions have brought about large-scale social changes, whether they are for better or worse does not depend on the technology itself, but on the use we make of it.
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