In the context of the rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology, the next generation of the internet is gradually moving from concept to reality.
Dr. Yang Guang, Chief Technology Officer of Conflux, expressed this view in an exclusive interview with Lianhe Zaobao. He believes that the industry's general understanding of Web4 as simply &#34;AI + Web3&#34; is still too superficial.
This is because the essential leap of Web4 lies in &#34;actionability,&#34; allowing the internet to move towards &#34;autonomous action.&#34; Yang said, &#34;If Web3 is the 'value internet,' then Web4 is closer to the 'action internet.'&#34;
Yang believes that the core breakthrough of Web3 is that it builds a decentralized and trustworthy information processing platform using blockchain, allowing public attributes of data such as &#34;assets, identity, rules, and ownership&#34; to be reliably recorded and executed. However, the internet at this stage still centers around &#34;humans&#34; as the main participants. The key change in Web4 is the &#34;replacement of the subject.&#34;
&#34;In the future internet, active participants will no longer be just humans, but a large number of AI agents that can autonomously perceive, make decisions, and execute tasks. This means that the way the internet computes will also change. It will shift from 'humans issuing commands' to 'humans setting goals,' with agents continuously executing tasks.&#34;
This shift not only changes the way of interaction but also reshapes the foundation of trust. In the past, trust was built on individuals or platforms, but in Web4, trust will increasingly shift towards the verification of rules, permissions, and execution results.
<h3>Blockchain is the Trust Foundation of the AI Era</h3>
As AI agents begin to participate in transactions, collaborations, and even governance, a key question arises: how to ensure that these digital actions are trustworthy?
In response, Yang proposed five core requirements, including: identity must be identifiable, permissions must be constrained, behavior must be auditable, execution must be verifiable, and results must be settled.
He stated that the role of blockchain in this system is not to replace AI but to provide &#34;external constraints and collaboration frameworks.&#34; In other words, AI is responsible for generating actions, while blockchain is responsible for making those actions trustworthy.
When discussing the trust mechanism of the future internet, Yang believes that technology will not negate trust but rather reconstruct it. He said, &#34;This is not about eliminating trust, but about shifting trust from vague human governance, platform promises, and post-fact remedies to clearer rules, transparency, and verifiability.&#34;
<h3>&#34;Digital Life&#34; Will Become Economic Entities</h3>
<h4>Further Reading</h4>
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From &#34;information network&#34; to &#34;value network,&#34; and then to &#34;action network,&#34; the evolution of the internet is entering a whole new stage. For the evolution of the internet in the next decade, Yang Guang provides a rather forward-looking judgment.
He said: &#34;The future internet is not just a human internet, but an internet where digital life begins to become a formal economic entity.&#34;
What is digital life? How will it become a formal economic entity on the internet?
Dr. Yang Guang will share more about the &#34;ABC of the future internet&#34; at the &#34;City Reading Festival 2026&#34; seminar, along with participants. The public can register for the seminar through the following link or QR code. Seminar details are as follows:
Date: May 2, 2026 (Saturday)
Time: 11:00 AM to 12:30 PM
Location: The Arts House, Play Den
Registration Fee: SGD 5 (includes a SGD 5 voucher for Popular Bookstore)
Seminar registration link: go.cityreading.sg/cr2026yangguang

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In the context of the integration of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, Dr. Yang Guang, Chief Technology Officer of Conflux, pointed out that the essence of Web4 lies in "actionability," leading the internet towards "autonomous action." He believes that Web4 is not just "AI + Web3," but rather positions AI agents as the main participants in the future internet, changing the way interactions occur and the foundation of trust. Web3 centers around humans, while Web4 redefines the computing methods of the internet by making AI agents active participants

- Dr. Yang Guang, CTO of Conflux, asserts that the evolution from Web3 to Web4 marks a shift towards an "action internet" where AI agents, rather than just humans, perform tasks autonomously.  
- He emphasizes that Web4 will redefine trust from individual or platform-based models to systems governed by rules and verifiable outcomes, with blockchain playing a crucial role in ensuring trustworthiness of AI actions.  
- Yang predicts that the future internet will feature "digital life" as active economic agents, transforming the landscape of digital interactions and economic responsibility.

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Web4 Moves Towards Action Internet, AI Agents Will Become New Entities in the Future Digital Economy | Lianhe Zaobao