The public often feels in the dark about how news organizations produce their news and the potential influences on it. Americans think news outlets are not fully transparent with them in a number of ways, which may also help explain their negative evaluations of the news media. When asked how well news organizations explain six […]
A large share of expert respondents in this canvassing expect some already evident trends to extend and expand through 2025. They said the greatest needs include more refined and responsive global governance of the complex systems on which people depend, as telemedicine, telework, tele-learning and tele-life spread. These dependences will increase demands for expansion of […]
A number of the respondents wrote about cross-cutting themes, introduced novel ideas or shared thoughts that were not widely mentioned by others. This section features a selection of that material. Questions about AI figure into the grandest challenges humans face Michael G. Dyer, professor emeritus of computer science at UCLA, expert in natural language processing, […]
The Chinese Communist Party is preparing for its 20th National Congress, an event likely to result in an unprecedented third term for President Xi Jinping. Since Xi took office in 2013, opinion of China in the U.S. and other advanced economies has turned more negative. How did it get to be this way?
A majority worries that the evolution of artificial intelligence by 2030 will continue to be primarily focused on optimizing profits and social control. Still, a portion celebrate coming AI breakthroughs that will improve life.
Over the centuries, the relationship between science and religion has ranged from conflict and hostility to harmony and collaboration, while various thinkers have argued that the two concepts are inherently at odds and entirely separate.
Jewish Americans generally perceive a rise in anti-Semitism. More than nine-in-ten U.S. Jews surveyed say there is at least some anti-Semitism in America, and three-quarters say there is more anti-Semitism in the U.S. today than there was five years ago. The past half-decade has included several high-profile incidents of anti-Semitism, including White nationalists chanting “Jews […]
Most favor protecting trans people from discrimination, but fewer support policies related to medical care for gender transitions; many are uneasy with the pace of change on trans issues.
Many of the experts in this canvassing said power dynamics play a key role in technology development and social and civic innovation and have substantial impact in regard to broad societal issues. These experts highlighted the discrepancies they see in regard to who has access to power and who controls the instruments of power. Some […]
Research suggests that parents have a large impact on their children’s religious behaviors.35 For example, there is considerable overlap between how often teens and their parents attend religious worship services (see Chapter 3). But what about religious beliefs? Do teens and their parents also tend to be in alignment on that front? For most families, the […]