jmh | The Black Purposes of Web3: Series Intro

My undergraduate thesis was titled "The Black Purposes of Web3: A Technical and Societal Analysis." I was lucky enough to be able to write about something I cared about (thank you Prof. Kernighan), and some of the main themes that came out of it revealed (even to myself!) some of my values and perspectives when it comes to tech and society, values that still hold today.

I was pretty proud of writing this book, but unfortunately, approximately 4 people have seen it. So, I figured since it is still a little relevant to other topics I think about and topics in tech news, I could share my thesis in chunks here. I will largely keep the content from it as I wrote it. Academic writing, especially a full-fledged thesis, is a little different from regular-people writing, so it may be awkward sometimes (like when I describe what the internet is). I will likely edit some of the content to be a little less academic, but perhaps some will remain. At the time of writing this, I truly do not know which direction I'll go. In some ways this is a fun way for me to relive the best part of the thesis process—the thrill of having ideas—without actually having to write one (read: I do not intend to rewrite my entire thesis, sorry).

At the time, Web3 was being heavily promoted as a revolutionary solution to the problems of the current web, particularly issues of data ownership, privacy, and corporate control. But as I was researching, I kept looking for sources and perspectives from Black people in the space, and I found very few. The conversation was dominated by the usual voices in tech, and I wanted to understand what this technology might mean for communities that have historically been excluded or harmed by technological "progress."

Here's what the thesis was actually about, pulled from the abstract:

"Web3 is a system of applications built on the blockchain, an immutable, distributed ledger of blocks linked together with cryptographic hashes. This emerging technology is being promoted by some as a solution to the centralization and user privacy issues of the current web. Given the pattern of technologies becoming mainstream and having negative effects, especially on marginalized groups, it is important to consider the potential societal implications of this new technology before it is widely adopted. After providing background on the previous iterations of the web, this paper gives an overview of Web3's value proposition, its technical details, and the surrounding media discourse. This research focuses on African Americans in particular, exploring the history of Black Americans and technology and drawing on that history to investigate the potential uses and impacts of Web3. Lastly, from this perspective this work discusses improvements and alternatives of Web3 that could succeed in reaching the same goals."

Over the course of this series, I'll share posts on the history of the web (Web 1.0 and Web 2.0), the data economy and surveillance capitalism, what Web3 actually is and how it works, the debate between Web3 maximalists and critics, the complicated history of Black Americans and technology, and what alternatives might work better. Some posts will be more technical or academic than others. Some will have citations and references at the bottom, as they did in my thesis.

I wrote this thesis a few years ago, and some of the examples and discourse reflect that time period (roughly 2021-2022, when Web3 hype was at a peak). The crypto market has crashed and recovered multiple times since then, various projects have failed or pivoted, and the conversation has evolved. But the fundamental questions remain relevant: Who benefits from new technologies? Who is harmed? Whose voices are centered, and whose are ignored? Though Web3 and crypto have seemingly moved out of common discourse, I believe the analysis is still applicable. We can now see how some of the predictions and promises played out, and how the ideas might be applied to the endlessly-discussed topic of AI.

This series is for anyone who wants to understand Web3 beyond the hype and the scams. It's especially for people who aren't deeply technical but want to understand what's really going on, those interested in how technology shapes (and is shaped by) society, anyone curious about race and technology, and family and friends who've asked me to explain this stuff. It's also for me—a way to get my ideas out instead of leaving them in a PDF on my laptop.

Let's explore the Black purposes of Web3.