Web 3.0

Technology continues to advance at an extremely rapid rate. It seems that as a new invention is released, a new and improved version is released within the month. The internet is not quite the same, but improving technology is expanding the possible uses. The shift from what can be referred to as Web 1.0 to Web 2.0 is a result from the changes in how the internet is used. Web 1.0 can be thought of like a library; a go-to source for information. Now, the internet is full of people collaborating and sharing all sorts of information from comedic videos to product reviews. Where will the internet go next in the stage of Web 3.0? It is very hard to accurately predict how technology will be utilized, but experts speculate that Web 3.0 will be able to act like a personal assistant rather than just a tool. The idea is that Web 3.0 will be able to interpret meaning and desires of the user based on past searches and choices. By doing this, every user will have their own profile and when people enter the same key words in a search, the results will vary based on this profile. It is exciting to think about the possibilities Web 3.0 will bring, but I feel there is more concern for the next stage.
With the use of Web 2.0, people of all ages now have pages on social networking sites like facebook, YouTube gets thousands of views daily, and people can read personal blogs about any sort of topic. All of these options and distractions that the internet provides has made people completely attached to their technologies. Cell phones are now smart phones that allow the internet to be completely mobile and leave people feeling flustered when they don't have them. I think there should be some concern about how necessary this technology has become and how attached people are too it.
I am also concerned about how private Web 3.0 will be. On sidebars of webpages there are already advertisements that relate to the types of things people search for. When the machine is able to understand and categorize results of searches for users based on preferences of the past, how will corporations use that information to sell products? How secret will our actions be? How safe will users think their information is?
I think there are a lot of benefits and great applications that will emerge following Web 3.0, but there will also be new dangers and concerns that people need to consider before completely relying on it. How far away is the possibility of a world like "Terminator" where the machines have learned and fought back? The concept seems abstract, but the foundation for those machines exists. I am not paranoid about new technologies, but the possibilities seem endless with new innovations, both positive and negative.