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Web 4.0

/wɛb fɔːr pɔɪnt oʊ/ The "Symbiotic Web" or "Intelligent Web" (Emerging).
Definition The theoretical next stage of the web, characterized by the integration of Artificial Intelligence and the fading of the "screen" as the primary interface. It is the "Symbiotic Web" where the distinction between human intent and machine execution blurs. For Archaeobytology, it presents the ultimate challenge: how do you archive a system that changes itself in real-time?

The Post-Artifact Era

In Web 1.0, we visited pages. In Web 2.0, we scrolled feeds. In Web 4.0, we interact with agents. The "page" disappears, replaced by a dynamic, generated answer. This creates a crisis for preservation: there is no "artifact" to save, only a fleeting, personalized interaction.

Field Notes

The Hallucinated Archive: If an AI generates history on the fly, does the original archive matter? Web 4.0 risks creating a "Hallucinated" past where the truth is fluid, tailored to the user's bias. The Archaeobytologist must become a "Truth Anchor" in this fluid reality.
Symbiosis vs. Parasitism: The optimistic view is that Web 4.0 amplifies human intent. The pessimistic view is that it harvests human intent to feed autonomous systems, leaving the human as a mere battery for the machine.
Stratigraphy (Related Concepts)
Synthetocene Generative Systems Web 3.0 Post-Platform Future