The next two sections of this report include additional comments from experts, organized under the most common themes found in their responses. These remarks generally echo the sentiments expressed by the experts whose comments are included in earlier sections of this report. This chapter includes a selection of responses to the question, “As you look […]

This report covers results from the 14th “Future of the Internet” canvassing by Pew Research Center and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center. Participants were asked to respond to several questions about the tone and impact of the online environment and the trajectory of activities in the digital public sphere that have recently been raising […]

The following respondents wrote contributions that consider a wide range of issues tied to humans’ future in the digital age. Andy Opel, professor of communications at Florida State University, wrote, “The fall of 2022 introduced profound changes to the world with the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Five days later, over a million users had registered […]

Early developments in AI have been of overwhelmingly great importance and value to society. Most of the experts responding to this canvassing – both the pessimists and the optimists – expect that it will continue to provide clear benefits to humanity. Those who are hopeful argue that its advance will naturally include mitigating activities, noting […]

This chapter covers the themes that emerged among respondents’ answers to the question, “As you look ahead to the year 2035, what are the best and most beneficial changes in digital life that are likely to occur in digital technology and humans’ use of digital systems?” The remarks echo the major themes found in the […]

As they considered the potential evolution of ethical AI design, the people responding to this canvassing were given the opportunity to speculate as to whether quantum computing (QC), which is still in its early days of development, might somehow be employed in the future in support of  the development of ethical AI systems. In March […]

Most respondents to this canvassing wrote brief reactions to this research question. However, a number of them wrote multilayered responses in a longer essay format. This essay section of the report is quite lengthy, so first we offer a sampler of a some of these essayists’ comments. What follows is the full set of essays […]

The following selection of responses covers some of the more panoramic and incisive big ideas shared by several dozen of the 862 thought leaders participating in this canvassing. This is the fork in the road where people can choose a better future – or a downward path Mark Davis, associate professor of media and communications […]

The following incisive and comprehensive responses to our questions about the future of the metaverse represent some of the big ideas shared by a small selection of the hundreds of thought leaders who participated in this canvassing. ‘We have always been living in a quasi-multiverse’ Sam Lehman-Wilzig, professor of communication at Bar-Ilan University, Israel, and […]

The following sections share selections of comments from technology experts and futurists who elaborate on the ways internet use has shaped humanity over the past 50 years and consider the potential future of digital life. They are gathered under broad, overarching ideas, rather than being tied to the specific themes highlighted above. Many of the […]