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Lee Rainie

Former Director, Internet and Technology Research

Expertise:Internet and Technology

Lee Rainie is the former director of internet and technology research at Pew Research Center. Under his leadership, the Center has issued more than 800 reports based on its surveys and data-science analyses that examine people’s online activities and the internet’s role in their lives. The American Sociological Association gave Rainie its award for “excellence in the reporting on social issues” and described his work as the “most authoritative source of reliable data on the use and impact of the internet and mobile connectivity.”

Rainie is a co-author of Networked: The new social operating system and five books about the future of the internet that are drawn from the Center’s research. He regularly speaks to government officials, media outlets and leaders, scholars and students, technology executives, librarians, civic and nonprofit groups about the changing media ecosystem.

Prior to launching Pew Research Center’s technology research, Rainie was managing editor of U.S. News & World Report.

Publications

  • report
    An image of Artificial intelligence robot hand and human hand

    As AI Spreads, Experts Predict the Best and Worst Changes in Digital Life by 2035

    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

  • report

    Life on Social Media Platforms, in Users’ Own Words

    In focus groups, highly engaged social media users describe the purposes that different platforms serve for them, their choices about what to reveal and how they try to anticipate any hostile reactions that could be lurking.

  • report

    AI in Hiring and Evaluating Workers: What Americans Think

    62% of Americans believe artificial intelligence will have a major impact on jobholders overall in the next 20 years, but far fewer think it will greatly affect them personally. Majorities oppose using AI in making final decisions on hiring or firing.

  • report
    (Chainarong Prasertthai/Getty Images)

    The Future of Human Agency

    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.

  • report
    (Gremlin via Getty Images)

    The Metaverse in 2040

    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.

  • report

    Visions of the Internet in 2035

    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.