Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Many participants pointed out that a person’s use of a technology does not necessarily equate to any level of trust in that technology. They said while some users may gain some level of trust in online interaction for various reasons in the next decade, many will be interacting in online spaces because it is convenient, […]
The public and the police differ on issues ranging from an assault rifle ban to racial progress in the U.S., but their views align on other issues.
Younger adults are more likely than older adults to think organic foods are better for their health and to believe GM foods are worse.
Those who have more pathways to access digital information express fewer concerns about information overload. The survey measured three key technological “access pathways” to information: 70% of U.S. adults have home broadband subscriptions. 72% have smartphones. 48% have tablet computers. Overall, 39% of adults have all three access pathways; 28% have two of the three; […]
Nearly all of these respondents see the great advantages of the algorithms that are already changing how connected institutions and people live and work. A significant majority expects them to continue to proliferate – mostly invisibly – and expects that there will be an exponential rise in their influence. They say this will bring many […]
Divides in public opinion over food are encapsulated by how people assess the health effects of two kinds of food: organic and genetically modified foods.
Two lines of thinking about societal divisions were embodied in many respondents’ answers. First, they predicted that an algorithm-assisted future will widen the gap between the digitally savvy, who are the most desired customers in the new information ecosystem, and disadvantage those who are not nearly as connected or able to participate. The second observation […]
Libraries have been in flux since the dawn of the digital age. They face changes in the materials they provide, in use of their services, in the composition of their patron populations, and in demands for new services. It is a set of disruptions as far-reaching and disorienting as the changes that are occurring in […]
Many respondents said that as people put too much faith in data, humanity can be lost. Some argued that because technology corporations and, sometimes, governments are most often the agencies behind the code, algorithms are written to optimize efficiency and profitability without much thought about the possible societal impacts of the data modeling and analysis. […]
Many experts say lack of trust won’t hinder increased public reliance on the internet. Some expect trust to grow as tech and regulatory changes arise; others think it will worsen or maybe change entirely.
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