Will ChatGPT kill search and pave the way for Web3?

Even though ChatGPT requires users to provide an email address or link to a Google account, because the OpenAI API requires users to authenticate their identity as a security measure, some promote ChatGPT as a chatbot (decentralized, that preserves privacy), a search engine, and a hybrid personal assistant, very much in keeping with the ideals of Web3.

While ChatGPT’s impact has yet to be fully realized, the avenues it has and will continue to open highlight that the future of Web3 will depend on things other than Web3-specific technologies.

ChatGPT could revolutionize search

ChatGPT is a chatbot developed by OpenAI (founded by Elon Musk and backed by Microsoft), designed to generate human-like text based on input provided, in a variety of languages. He does not have personal experiences or physical sensations and does not have the ability to navigate the Internet or access new information. You can only provide information and assistance based on your Supervised Learning and Reinforcement Learning training and the information you have been programmed to understand.

The cut-off for the training data was in 2021, so any events after that will not be part of the training and the model will not be able to accurately tell us about them. Although it’s powerful enough to combine natural language processing (NLP) with task automation, as evidenced by its gaining over a million users within five days of its initial release, it couldn’t tell us who won the Cup. Soccer World Cup 2022.

ChatGPT has other problems beyond not knowing that PSG teammates Messi and Mbappé met in a nail-biting final that ended in a penalty shootout. The OpenAI GPT3.5-powered chatbot is capable of some surprising cognitive errors, such as claiming that a kilo of bricks weighs more than a kilo of air. But his declarative tone often makes him sound believable. Concerns have been raised about students using the chatbot to write (quite compelling) essays. There are deeper fears that such AI systems will be manipulated by a host of bad actors, including proponents of disinformation.

Web3 is the next phase of the Internet

While Web1 was characterized by static pages, today’s Web2 is characterized by the emergence of user-generated content, social media, and user interaction. Web3 is primarily an ideology of privacy, decentralization, and zero trust. Much of the goals of the next iteration of the Internet will depend heavily on blockchain technologies. AI is also important in Web3 projects as it enables efficiency and functionality at scale.

Web3 is immature and challenges exist and act as a barrier to widespread adoption. There is an understanding gap between Web3 literate users and the rest of us. But this was also the case with the first Web1 and Web2.

Web3 adoption won’t happen all at once, it’s likely to happen sporadically before we fully immerse ourselves in it, if at all. It’s hard to put a date on when this might happen, but if it does, it will be sometime within the next two to 10 years. Web3 and NFT proponents are still waiting for a killer use case to drive mass adoption. What many of them don’t recognize is that Web3 adoption will happen only if it’s cheaper, faster, more useful/better, and as easy or easier to use than what’s currently available on Web2. The implementation of digital collectibles in games, NFT-based marketing campaigns from consumer brands, or intellectual property sharing are unlikely to drive mass adoption on Web3 beyond a few million people, at best.

Search needs to change for true Web3

Web2 is based on a search base. There are few key players in search, the most infamous of which is Google, so much so that the brand name is even often used as a verb. Website creators, owners and maintainers are constantly pursuing ever-changing, often opaque search engine optimization (SEO) criteria to ensure that their web pages rank high in the Google algorithm and thus , can be found by Web2 travelers. Google (and other search engines) profit in two ways: by returning ad-supported responses, and by selling user data to programmatic advertisers who pay based on how much or how long people spend on their page.

Obviously, in a utopian, open, trustless and permissionless Web3, cross-platform data sharing that relies on centralized infrastructure providers, which have become somewhat utility-like, is not in keeping with decentralized ideology. The true advocates of Web3 are looking to move away from their current reliance on centralized technologies, including some search engines.