Imagine a dog you don’t need to train. Instead, you can program it to do whatever you want. Now, you don’t need to imagine it. Meet Spot, a dog-like robot from US company Boston Dynamics.

In March, the Archaeological Park of Pompeii (庞贝考古公园) in Italy gave Spot a new job. Pompeii is a famous “time capsule (胶囊)” from the ancient world. Thousands of years ago, a nearby volcano covered the city in ash. Many people died, but the ash kept buildings safe until someone found it in 1748.

So, what is Spot doing in Pompeii? It walks around the site with a 3D scanner (扫描仪). There are many narrow, underground tunnels in Pompeii. Thieves used the tunnels to steal things. The tunnels bring safety problems to the ancient buildings. Robot dogs are small enough to go through these tunnels and find any changes to the buildings.

According to Gabriel Zuchtriegel, new director of the site, this is the first time anyone has used a robot to help protect an archaeological site. “It’s a breakthrough and it would allow us to protect the ruins with greater speed and in total safety,” said Zuchtriegel.

Spot will also work with a 3D-scanning drone (无人机). The two tools will check the site regularly. They will look for any damage that may need a repair. As art magazine ARTnews said, Pompeii is turning into a “Smart Archaeological Park”.

Web 1.0 is often referred to as a “read-only Internet”. All its content was created by webmasters. Users could not interact with the content or add content themselves.

In the age of Web 2.0, the Internet became interactive. Websites allowed users to communicate with each other. So Web 2.0 is also known as the Social Web. Web 2.0 led to a big jump in technology development. It changes the way we work, socialize, create and share information and ideas. In Web 2.0, while users can create content, they don’t own it and cannot control it. The platforms can easily block or remove the content without the permission of the creators.

So Web 3.0 is coming. Web 3.0 is a concept of a new generation of the Internet. In contrast to Web 2.0, where most of the data is stored in corporations, such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, etc., Web 3.0 data will be decentralized (分散). Web 3.0 will create platforms that nobody controls but everyone can confirm.

Let’s see what important changes we may expect. No third party is required. For instance, the use of cryptocurrencies (加密货币) ends the need for banks because all financial deals take place directly between the two parties using cryptocurrency. In addition, Web 3.0 will make it much more difficult for Internet attackers to access sensitive information. Besides, Web 3.0 makes businesses directly accountable to their consumers. Businesses may apply this openness to their consumers to develop relationships of trust and loyalty. Plus, the information is accurate since data saved on blockchains (区块链) cannot be changed.

The new Internet promises to build a “global village”, a world focused on interpersonal interaction throughout the world, which will contribute both to the development of technology and business, and the promotion of personal happiness.