Research: Beyond URLs

Just one bad DNS record can have a significant impact on the ability reach internet based services.

That’s not a theory — it happens. The centralised structure of DNS (and the root authorities that govern it) has always been both the backbone and the bottleneck of the web.

As artificial intelligence begins to automate more of how we find, trust, and connect information, it’s worth asking:

• Do we still need URLs in a world run by AI?
• And if not, what replaces them?

Context: Why Now

The web was built for humans navigating pages — not for intelligent systems negotiating meaning.

As AI systems begin to act on our behalf — managing identity, verifying credentials, and mediating value — the infrastructure that supports them needs to evolve.

The URL, the certificate authority, and even the server are relics of a centralised era.

We’re entering an age where context, trust, and intent matter more than location.
That shift demands a new kind of addressing — one that’s decentralised, verifiable, and semantic.

From Locations to Intentions

The URL (https://example.com/resource) was designed for humans — a readable pointer to where something lives.
But AI doesn’t need where. It needs what and why.

When an AI is asked to “fetch the verified constitution for selfdriven.foundation,” it doesn’t care which server hosts it.

It cares whether the document is:

• Authentic
• Current
• Cryptographically verifiable
• Connected to a trusted identity

That’s a shift from location-based addressing to meaning-based resolution — or what you might call intent-based networking.

The Architecture of Trust

To build an internet that can be reasoned about by AI — not just indexed — we need a new architecture of trust.

Handshake sits in the Naming layer — the foundation that links human-readable meaning to verifiable cryptographic truth.

Handshake: The Decentralised Root Zone

Handshake replaces the centralised DNS root (run by ICANN and a few large registries) with a blockchain-based registry of top-level domains.

When you own a Handshake name like .selfdriven, you don’t lease it — you own it cryptographically.

That means:

• No registrar middlemen
• No renewals
• No single point of failure

Your name becomes a trust root, one that AI agents can resolve without relying on corporate or government intermediaries.

Handshake + DIDs = The New Trust Fabric

In the AI-first internet, we’ll likely see a stack like this:

Handshake provides the cryptographic namespace,
while DIDs provide verifiable identity,
and AI agents resolve intent dynamically.

Instead of a fragile web of URLs, we get a self-verifying network of meaning — where names are permanent and trust is native.

Interoperability and Resolver Bridges

Handshake doesn’t replace DNS overnight — it bridges it.
Resolver gateways like hns.to allow .hns domains to resolve from traditional browsers, while AI systems can query Handshake’s blockchain directly.

That means systems can operate across both Web2 and Web3 namespaces, allowing gradual adoption:

• Legacy browsers can still resolve .com and .org
• AI and decentralised apps can resolve .selfdriven natively
• Both point to verifiable records and DIDs underneath

This bridge layer keeps the web accessible while laying the foundation for a trust-native internet.

AI Context Resolution in Action

Let’s imagine the next generation of the selfdriven.network AI interface:

1. You ask: “Show me the official constitution for the selfdriven.foundation.”
2. The AI looks up .selfdriven on the Handshake blockchain.
3. That record points to a DID or IPFS hash.
4. The DID document provides public keys and proof chains.
5. The AI verifies the credential and delivers the document — no URL, no middleman, just provenance.

That’s AI-native resource resolution — grounded in decentralised naming and verifiable identity.

What It Enables

A Handshake-based addressing system makes possible:

• Trustless publication: Governance documents, constitutions, or charters stored immutably and verifiably.
• Agentic access control: AI agents referencing credentials directly from DID-linked namespaces.
• Decentralised governance: Organisations publishing verifiable decisions without dependency on central web infrastructure.
• Human-readable sovereignty: A .selfdriven namespace as both brand and blockchain identity — recognisable, but cryptographically secure.

Why It Matters

The internet began as a network of locations,
evolved into a network of links,
and is now becoming a network of intent.

Handshake keeps that evolution anchored — ensuring that as intelligence becomes the new interface, we still have a foundation of authenticity beneath it.

Handshake is DNS for the self-aware web — where names don’t just locate things, they mean things.

Diagram: The Post-URL Internet Stack

In the post-URL internet, AI resolves intent via decentralised identity (DIDs), naming (Handshake), and data (IPFS) layers — ensuring provenance and authenticity without centralised DNS.

Closing Reflection

The next web won’t be built from pages — it’ll be built from proofs.
Handshake gives those proofs a name the world can trust.

In a selfdriven world, intelligence isn’t centralised — it’s verified.
And that’s the kind of infrastructure the AI era deserves.

Research

• Handshake & Beyond URLs
• selfdriven Foundation Research