cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10431737

TL;DR: The internet’s evolution mirrors historical societal development. Transitioning from web2 to the social web and ultimately to web4 signifies a transformative shift akin to the end of the Middle Ages and the dawn of modernity, with the ultimate goal of achieving liberal democracy. In the style of the Dot Com Boom, the social web will witness the rise of influential digital forces, which will in this case be global collectives, shaping the digital and societal landscape. Web4, characterized by these decentralized collectives, offers the potential for positive change within the liberal democracy framework; with the possibility of reaching the actual end of history for homo sapiens and the entering of a new stage for humanity, in which a new form of human will emerge: the homo digitalis.