But despite the technology's massive progress, critics say it's become too centralized, with power concentrated in the hands of a few big tech companies.

但是儘管該技術進步巨大，它也因為過於中心化而被批評，權力都集中在幾個大科技公司手中。

Enter Web3, where a slew of new companies, like the ones at this crypto conference, are aiming to reshape the Internet.

許多新公司，比如參加這次國際密碼討論年會的公司，正致力於重塑網路的型態，開發往Web3的新大陸。

Proponents of Web3 say it has the potential to disrupt the giants of the tech world by giving power to Internet users rather than platforms.

Web3 的支持者表示，Web3 有可能藉由給予網路使用者而非平台本身更多權限來顛覆科技界的巨頭。

But Web3's also drawn some prominent detractors, who've dismissed it as simply another Silicon Valley fad that creates more problems than it solves.

但Web3也招來一些著名的反對者，他們摒棄這個想法，認為這只是矽谷又一個風潮，帶來的麻煩比好處多。

So what is Web3 exactly, and why can't the tech world stop talking about it?

那麼，究竟什麼是Web3，為什麼是當今科技界的熱門話題呢？

Web3 is a movement in tech that calls for the creation of a decentralized version of the Internet based on a few technologies, with blockchain being a key one.

Web3是科技界的一個運動，呼籲創建一個基於某些技術的去中心化網路，而區塊鏈是其中的關鍵。

Ethereum is currently the most popular platform on which Web3 services are built, but there are others, including Algorand and Polkadot.

以太坊是目前構建Web3服務的最流行的平臺，但也有其他，包括ALGO和Polkadot。

In fact, the term Web3 is thought to have been first coined in 2014 by Gavin Wood, Polkadot's creator and a co-founder of Ethereum.

事實上，大眾認為Web3這個詞是由Gavin Wood，以太坊的聯合創始人，在2014年首次提出的。

Web3 is really sort of an alternative vision of the web where the services that we use are not hosted by a single service provider.

Web3實際上是網路的另一個面向，也就是我們使用的服務並非由來自單一的服務提供者。

To understand Web3 and where it's coming from, it's important to look a little at the history of the Internet.

要了解Web3和它的來歷，就得看看網路的歷史。

During the 90s and early 2000s, websites were mostly static pages where you could consume pieces of information.

在90年代和21世紀初，網站大多是靜態頁面，你可以在其中獲得一些資訊。

But it was much harder to produce content of your own.

但要創作自己的內容就沒那麼容易了。

This period has been described as "Web1."

這個時期被稱為Web1。

With the advent of "Web2" in the early to mid-2000s, we were introduced to applications like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

2000年的早期到中期時，隨著Web2 的出現，一些應用程式像Facebook、YouTube和Twitter也登場了。

These sites were more interactive, allowing users to post their own material and engage in online discussions about everything from politics to pets.

這些網站的互動性更強，允許用戶發佈自己的素材並參與網上從政治到寵物等的一切問題的討論。

While Web2 ushered in a more user-friendly online experience, there were a few significant drawbacks.

雖然Web2是一個更為用戶友好的線上體驗，但也有一些明顯的缺點。

Bertrand Perez, chief operating officer at the Web3 Foundation, ran me through some of the downsides.

Web3基金會的首席運營官Bertrand Perez向我介紹了一些缺點。

Right now, you have big organizations who are controlling your data and providing you services that use your data.

現今，大型組織正在控制你的數據，並向你提供使用你數據的服務。

When you're using a service, if the service is free, that means that you are you are the product.

當你使用一項服務時，如果該服務是免費的，就意味著你就是產品。

Those organizations are having a lot of insight on you, on your life, etc.

這些組織對你、你生活的方方面面了解很多。

And if you add that, together with artificial intelligence, you're able to basically know and kind of model person per person very precisely, and that's, to some extent, a level of freedom that you're giving away.

如果你把這些再加上人工智能，就能很精確的塑造每一個人，你基本上就能知道某種程度上你的一些自由被奪走了。

Because the more those institutions know you, the better they can sell you ads.

因為這些機構越瞭解你，就越能向你推銷廣告。

So how does Web3 promise to change all that?

那麼，Web 3是如何承諾改變這一切的呢？

Web3 is basically an evolution of the Internet, going to a place where the Internet would be less centralized.

Web 3基本上是網路的一個演變，演變為一個叫不中心化的網路。

The idea of Web3 is to decentralize the data, so not a single organization will have full control of your data.

Web3的想法是將數據分散化，因此沒有一個組織會完全掌控你的數據。

So that will provide you more freedom, because you don't need to trust a single organization.

也教室說，你會得到更多自由，因為你不需要信任一個單一組織。

In Web2, your data and content are managed by centralized platforms.

在Web2中，你的數據和內容是由集中式平臺管理的。

Web3 aims to flip this model on its head.

Web3旨在顛覆這種模式。

Ownership of virtual items, from social media avatars to songs, would be placed in the hands of users through nonfungible tokens, while commerce would be driven by different projects' native tokens.

虛擬物品的所有權，從社交媒體的頭像到歌曲等，將藉由不可偽造的代幣來被用戶掌握住，而商業將由不同項目的原生代幣驅動。

It's all about ownership, right?

一切都跟所有權有關，對吧？

Solo Ceesay is the co-founder of Calaxy, a blockchain-based social media app.

Solo Ceesay是Calaxy的聯合創始人，Calaxy 是一個基於區塊鏈的社交媒體程式。

When you think about the way in which content creators monetize themselves nowadays,

當你想想現今內容創作者的盈利方式時，

you're relying on platforms and their arbitrary standards to derive income streams, which is something that can be amazing when they're in your favor but honestly something that's unpredictable.

你會發現他們是依靠平臺和平台自己的標準來獲得收入來源，這是一件當平台支持創作者時有利的好事，但說實話，這也是件不可預測的事。

Web3 platforms could be supported by decentralized autonomous organizations, or DAOs, online communities with their own tokens that users can buy to get a seat at the table.

Web3平臺可以由分散式自治組織，也就是DAO支持，DAOs是一個有自己的代幣線上社區，用戶可以購買代幣來加入。

I think Web3 really has to do with ownership.

我認為Web3真的和所有權大有關係。

And the idea about community empowerment, and complete transparency.

還有關於社區賦權、完全透明等的想法。

Sounds promising, right?

聽起來很有前瞻性，對嗎？

Hmm, not so fast.

嗯，還沒那麼快。

Just as there are drawbacks with "Web2," crypto enthusiasts' vision for a third iteration of the net has some trade-offs of its own.

正如 Web2 存在的缺點一樣，加密貨幣愛好者們對第三次網路迭代有一些自己的權衡。

Web3 has attracted the ire of some notable critics, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

Web3已經引起了一些有名批評家的憤怒，包括特斯拉首席執行官馬斯克和推特聯合創始人傑克多西。

In December 2021, Musk shared a tweet questioning whether Web3 was "more marketing buzzword than reality."

2021年12月，馬斯克分享了一條推文，質疑Web3是否只是 「營銷流行語而非現實」。

Dorsey, meanwhile, poked fun at how Web3 projects are often backed by venture capitalists, such as Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital.

同時，多西對Web3項目通常由風險資本家，如Andreessen Horowitz和Sequoia Capital等，支持的情況進行了嘲諷。

That led to a public spat between Dorsey and Marc Andreessen, the prominent Silicon Valley investor.

這導致了多西和矽谷著名投資人安德里森的公開爭吵。

Andreessen's VC firm has invested in some major crypto ventures, including Coinbase, OpenSea and Bored Ape creators Yuga Labs.

Andreessen的風險投資公司已經投資了一些主要的加密貨幣企業，包括比特幣基地、OpenSea和無聊猿。

Web3's critics worry that a handful of rich tech investors are holding too much sway over its development, giving average users less of a say.

Web3的批評者擔心，少數富有的技術投資者對Web3的發展影響力太大，使普通用戶的發言權反而減少。

Blockchain start-ups raised a record 25 billion dollars in venture funding throughout 2021, helped in no small part by the buzz around Web3.

區塊鏈的新創企業在2021年整年籌集了破紀錄的250億美元風險資金，這很大程度上得益於Web3的熱議。

Andrei Brasoveanu, a partner at venture capital firm Accel, explains what's behind the boom.

風險投資公司Accel的合夥人布拉索維努解釋了背後的原因。

As investors, we very much follow the talent.

作為投資者，我們非常關注人才。

And there are some incredibly smart people, many technical folks devoting all their time to explore this new area, so it's impossible for us not to take notice.

這些聰明到難以置信的人，這些技術人員把他們所有時間都貢獻在探索這個新領域，所以我們很難不注意到這一點。

VCs are increasingly buying tokens of new blockchains at an early stage through private sales.

通過私人銷售，風險投資公司買下越來越多還在發展早期的新區塊鏈代幣。

They're sort of like traditional equity investments, but with investors owning a portion of crypto rather than shares.

它們有點像傳統的股權投資，但投資者擁有加密貨幣的一部分，而不是股份。

These tokens are later distributed more widely to members of the public.

這些代幣後來被更廣泛地分配給大眾。

Web3's skeptics say that puts users at a disadvantage.

Web3 的懷疑者說這讓用戶處於不利地位。

Not all blockchains are equal.

不是所有的區塊鏈都是平等的。

Some of them are really pure speculation.

其中有些人只是純粹在投機。

They're not building for the long term, they just want to, as we say, pump and dump.

他們不是為了長期來想，他們只是想，正如我們所說哄擡股價，高時賣出。

I would say the key in that kind of investment is how much the VCs are taking on the governance of the project.

我想說，這種投資的關鍵是風險投資公司對項目的管理承擔了多少。

If the governance is 100% driven by the VCs, then you can say, yes, arguably they are taking the control.

如果管理是100%由風險投資公司驅動，那麼你可以說，是的，他們正在掌握控制權。

But if they are smart enough to say, we are here to invest, and we want the project to grow, and we want to participate in the governance, but there's room for others who also participate into it.

但如果他們足夠聰明，會說：「我們是來投資的，我們希望項目能夠發展，我們想參與治理，但也有空間讓其他人参與進來」。

I would say that's the good way to see VC investments in the Web3 world.

我想說的是，這麼看Web3世界中的風險創投比較好。

The term Web3 is sometimes used in connection with the metaverse, a hypothetical virtual world in which users can work, play or even party.

Web3一詞有時與元宇宙掛鉤，用戶可以在這個虛擬世界中工作、玩耍、甚至聚會。

But just like the metaverse, Web3 still isn't that well defined.

但就像元宇宙一樣，Web3還沒有那麼好定義。

Several brands, from Gucci to the NBA, are trying to figure out their own approaches to Web3.

從Gucci到NBA的幾個品牌，都在試圖找出自己的Web3的生存之道。

Results have been mixed so far, particularly in the video game industry.

迄今為止結果好壞參半，尤其是在電子遊戲行業。

Attempts from big studios like Ubisoft and Square Enix to launch their own NFT initiatives have been met with swift backlash from their communities, for example.

比方說，育碧和Square Enix等大型工作室試圖推出自己的NFT，不過卻很快遭到自家社群的反對。

Embracing blockchain comes with its own perils.

接受區塊鏈有其自身的危險性。

I think just slapping blockchain on a piece of old content won't work.

我認為僅僅是將區塊鏈放在舊內容上是行不通的。

It has to be an organic effort that's well thought out.

它必須是經過深思熟慮的，自然而然的努力。

You have to have a strong community approach.

你必須有一個打入社群的有力方法。

No shortcuts here.

沒有捷徑可言。

Web2 giants like Meta and Twitter have faced a reckoning over how they moderate online content.

像Meta和推特這樣的Web2巨頭已經面臨著關於他們審核線上內容方式的算帳。

With Web3, it's unclear how they'll be able to respond to toxic and harmful content when the whole point is to decentralize how platforms are run.

而有了Web3，目前還不清楚他們會如何在去中心化下，應對有害的內容，並運營平台。

This is all really solved with like, public governance.

這一切其實都是通過像公共治理來解決的。

The idea of the community being able to have an influence on the way in which that there are content moderation or different sorts of standards that impact the user experience for anybody that lives within an ecosystem.

社群的這個概念能對內容審核方式，或和整個社區生態系統的用戶的體驗有關聯的標準產生影響。

Just like with anything, you know, everything is good in moderation.

你懂的，就像任何事一樣，適度才是好的。

And so there might be things that make sense to be fully decentralized.

所以說，完全去中心化可能某方面是有意義的。

But there also are equally a lot of different things that may not make sense to be completely decentralized.

但也同樣，有很多不同的東西如果完全去中心化是沒有意義的。

So, is Web3 the future of the Internet?

那麼，Web3是互聯網的未來嗎？

Could it kill the big tech platforms?

它能打敗科技巨頭的平臺嗎？

Web3 is still a hazy concept, and it comes with numerous issues that will need ironing out if the technology is to mature.

Web3 的概念仍然很模糊，如果技術要成熟的話，也會有許多需要解決的問題。

But some experts say the true promise of Web3 technologies is yet to be realized.

不過一些專家表示，Web3 技術的真正承諾還有待實現。

Like any new innovation, the power of NFT is much more than a selling a bunch of apes over the Internet.

像任何的創新一樣，NFT的力量遠遠超過了在互聯網上賣一堆猿人。

Because, thanks to NFT, you can really have digital ownership, digital property, whether it's for real estate, whether it's for cars, or for lots of areas that currently you need a third party to warranty that you have the property of something.

因為好險有NFT，你可以真正擁有數位所有權，數位財產，無論是無論是房地產，還是汽車，或者是目前很多領域你都需要一個第三方來保證你擁有某物的財產。

Right now, we're at this juncture where there's an opportunity for this technology to be made impactful for mass audiences.

現在，我們正處於這個關頭，使這項技術有機會成為對大眾有影響力的存在。

Right now, we're kind of still trying to figure it out, it still feels like early days.

現在，我們仍在試圖弄清楚它，一切還在早期。

It's very much so is early days.

還有很多不確定。