Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
A considerable number of these experts focused their answers on the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). They say these digital enhancements or alternatives will have growing impact on everything online and in the physical world. This, they believe, is the real “metaverse” that indisputably lies ahead. They […]
Some of these expert respondents wrote of their hope that digital interactions and tools will be essential parts of global efforts to tackle grand challenges such as climate change, defending human rights and addressing pandemics. They often foresee – or advocate for – changes in the way knowledge is generated and applied. Marcus Foth, professor […]
Most Americans think the founders of America intended for the U.S. to be a “Christian nation,” more than four-in-ten think the United States should be a Christian nation, and a third say the country is a Christian nation today. However, Americans’ views of what it means to be a Christian nation are wide-ranging and often […]
People in different subgroups within the U.S. population often have different views of, relationships with and priorities for the news media. Partisanship is among the strongest divides, with Republicans expressing much more negativity toward the media than Democrats (see Chapter 4). But striking divisions also emerge between other groups in the country, including racial and […]
The following respondents wrote contributions that bring together a holistic look at the issues at hand, trying to place them in human and historical context. Peter B. Reiner, co-founder of the National Core for Neuroethics at the University of British Columbia, wrote, “It is challenging to make plausible predictions about the impact that digital spaces […]
A significant number of these experts outlined their dreams about the kinds of internet-enabled communities that could emerge by 2035. Among the traits they seek in those online spaces: activities that diminish social inequalities; groups in which participants’ main focus is on collecting, organizing, publishing and archiving useful, reality-based knowledge; healthy debates that create trusted […]