The Commission wants the EU to lead on ‘Web 4.0’ — whatever that is

BRUSSELS — The European Commission on Tuesday unveiled its "virtual worlds" initiative — and it’s all about "Web 4.0."

The communication, which started its life last year as the European Union’s answer to the rise of the buzzword du jour — the metaverse — ended up focusing heavily on the elusive concept, which supposedly represents the next iteration of the internet. (Web3, the supposed current version, essentially functions as an industry euphemism for cryptocurrency.)

"The Web 4.0 and virtual worlds will bring benefits for health, contribute to the green transition and better anticipate natural disasters," Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said in a statement announcing the initiative.

Central to the Commission’s strategy are four "pillars" that involve creating a pool of specialists; setting up an "industrial ecosystem" to encourage innovation; investing in virtual public services; and leading on global standardization and interoperability.

Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton also chimed in, saying, "Today, Europe throws its hat in the ring to become a world leader in Web 4.0 and virtual worlds."

The catch? Nobody knows what Web 4.0 really is.

"It is disappointing that the Commission — who craves interoperability so badly — has failed to align with its international allies on terminology," said Patrick Grady, a managing consultant for consulting firm Fourtold. "Whilst Japan, South Korea, and Finland have launched ‘Metaverse’ strategies, the EU is settling instead on the obscure ‘Web 4.0.’"

Tuesday’s document defines Web 4.0 in rather unwieldy terms, calling it "the expected fourth generation of the World Wide Web. Using advanced artificial and ambient intelligence, the internet of things, trusted blockchain transactions, virtual worlds and XR capabilities, digital and real objects and environments are fully integrated and communicate with each other, enabling truly intuitive, immersive experiences, seamlessly blending the physical and digital worlds."

The sparse academic literature mentioning the specific term suggests it’s to do with human-machine communication. One 2016 article from the International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation labeled it a "Symbiotic Web" where "human[s] and machines can interact with [mind-controlled] interfaces."

The Commission itself started using the term only in February 2023, with its first mention coming during a speech Breton gave at Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress. “We expect the Web 4.0 to be enabled by virtual reality and augmented-reality technologies and the ‘symbiotic’ interaction between humans and machines,” the Frenchman said in his address.

The following month, the term made its official debut in a Commission communication on competitiveness. "Looking ahead, the Web 4.0, where everything will be seamlessly interconnected, will be ground-breaking," the document promised.

Speaking to journalists ahead of the virtual world initiative’s launch, a Commission official, speaking anonymously as is customary in the EU’s institutional briefings, confirmed the bloc’s ambition to blaze a trail — including when it comes to steering terminology.

"By using the term Web 4.0 we do want to set the scene for what’s going to come," the official said. "We do put a definition forward that is based on definitions that are out there.

"We do want to take the initiative in this area," they added.