As they watch the splashy emergence of generative artificial intelligence and an array of other AI applications, experts participating in a new Pew Research Center canvassing say they have deep concerns about people’s and society’s overall well-being. At the same time, they expect to see great benefits in health care, scientific advances and education
Experts are split about how much control people will retain over essential decision-making as digital systems and artificial intelligence spread. They agree that powerful corporate and government authorities will expand the role of AI in people’s daily lives in useful ways. But, many worry these systems will diminish individuals’ ability to control their choices.
Experts are split about the likely evolution of a truly immersive “metaverse.” They expect that augmented- and mixed-reality enhancements will become more useful in people’s daily lives. Many worry that current online problems may be magnified if Web3 development is led by those who built today’s dominant web platforms.
Asked to “imagine a better world online,” experts hope for a ubiquitous – even immersive – digital environment that promotes fact-based knowledge, offers better defense of individuals’ rights, empowers diverse voices and provides tools for technology breakthroughs and collaborations to solve the world’s wicked problems.
Lee Rainie, director of internet and technology research at the Pew Research Center, presented this material on October 29, 2020 to scholars, policy makers and civil society advocates convened by New York University’s Governance Lab. He described findings from two canvassings of hundreds of technology and democracy experts that captured their views about the future of democracy and the future of social and civic innovation by the year 2030.
A plurality of experts think sweeping societal change will make life worse for most people. Still, a portion believe things will be better in a ‘tele-everything’ world.