Internet Computer: A Step Towards A Decentralized Internet

• What is an Internet Computer?
• Centralized v/s Decentralized Internet.

The Internet is mainly owned and regulated by some big companies such as Google, Meta, and Amazon, which means that it is centralized. In this, the Internet Computer comes as an alternative solution with a decentralized version of the Internet.

So let’s explore more about it and explore its features.

What Is an Internet Computer?

In simple terms, an Internet Computer is a set of protocols that give access to independent data centers present around the world to collaborate and provide a decentralized alternative to centralized Internet cloud providers. The ICP tokens can be used for governance and to reward users of the network.

Just like any other project in the world of crypto, the Internet computer is also more than just a form of digital currency. It has much bigger plans than that; it aims to become the decentralized form of the Internet, with protocols running on every computer around the world.

Developers suggest that it have a few advantages over the centralized Internet. It runs on open standards, which eliminates the risk of conflicts. Moreover, ICP’s servers, which are a network of globally distributed data centers, can run all the applications of the standard centralized internet.

Furthermore, Its tokens can be used for various purposes.

How Does Internet Computer Work?

The Internet that we use is centralized, and most of the applications it runs are powered by only a handful of servers or data centers. Even if one of these data centers fails to work, the whole  Internet could be forced to shut down. Another disadvantage of the current version of the internet is that it can detect or remove any current application from the platform.

It solves these problems by allowing websites to be directly uploaded to the public internet. Moreover, it would incentivize open-sourced, transparent, and decentralized software developments.

ICP would also be helpful in converting crypto into processing power. It aims to establish a fee based on the amount of computing power that is used by a developer’s project. As long as this fee is paid, the website will run on the public internet.

So, any kind of application can be developed and run on the Internet Computer, just like we see on today’s version of the Internet.

Challenges Faced by Internet Computer

The major challenge that it might be facing is that it would require more heavy hardware, and therefore only big entities can fully access it. 

Also, in a decentralized environment, it would be difficult to hold anyone accountable for hosting abusive or inappropriate content. Moreover, it is facing many challenges from rivals who are also aiming to launch a decentralized version of the internet. Some examples of that are- IPFS/Filecoin and MIT’s Solid, which was created by Tim Berners-Lee.