53% of Americans Say the Internet Has Been Essential During the COVID-19 Outbreak
Americans with lower incomes are particularly likely to have concerns related to the digital divide and the digital “homework gap.”
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Americans with lower incomes are particularly likely to have concerns related to the digital divide and the digital “homework gap.”
A big majority (81%) of Americans say they rely a lot on their own research – more than say they rely a lot on friends and family or experts.
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.
Majorities of U.S. adults believe their personal data is less secure now, that data collection poses more risks than benefits, and that it is not possible to go through daily life without being tracked.
Fifty years after the first computer network was connected, most experts say digital life will mostly change things for the better in coming decades. But they say this will require reforms toward better cooperation and security, basic rights and economic fairness.
Access to mobile phones and social media is common across emerging economies. People around the world see certain benefits from these technologies, yet there are also concerns about their impact on children.
Experts say the rise of artificial intelligence will make most people better off over the next decade, but many have concerns about how advances in AI will affect what it means to be human, to be productive and to exercise free will.
Many experts say digital life will continue to expand people’s boundaries and opportunities. Yet nearly a third think that people’s overall well-being will be more harmed than helped in coming years.
Lee Rainie, director of Internet, Science and Technology research at the Pew Research Center, described the Center’s research about public views related to facts and trust after the 2016 election at UPCEA’s “Summit on Online Leadership.”
As robots, automation and artificial intelligence perform more tasks and there is massive disruption of jobs, experts say a wider array of education and skills-building programs will be created to meet new demands.
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