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<\/p>\nTo recognise the 25th<\/sup> anniversary of the Internet, we highlight some thoughts and ideas on what life and the Internet might be like in 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n
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On 12 March 2014, the Internet celebrated its 25th<\/sup> anniversary. On that day in 1989, Sir Tim Berners-Lee wrote a paper proposing an \u201cinformation management\u201d system that conceptualized the World Wide Web. For those of us over 30 years old, we may remember a time before the Internet:<\/p>\n
In the 25 years since Sir Tim Berners-Lee\u2019s paper, we might not be able to imagine our lives without the Internet. It is also driving our societies to become more information and digital based, and is directly affecting our economies. At the same time, the Internet is challenging traditional values and norms: from the rights to privacy and freedom of expression, to those associated with intellectual property.<\/p>\n
Although it is useful to look back and appreciate how far we have come, the future of the Internet promises to be even more exciting. Routinely, futurists postulate on what the Internet and life on Earth will look like in the future. Most recently and to commemorate the Internet\u2019s 25 year milestone, the Pew Research Center<\/a> surveyed 2,558 experts and technology builders about what life will be like in 2025. Five predictions are highlighted.<\/p>\n
Currently there may still be some novelty associated with having access to the Internet, as relatively it is still an emerging technology that has undergone significant transformation in recent years. Into the future, it is likely to become even more integrated into our lives so that it becomes invisible. According to David Clark, a senior research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology:<\/p>\n
The Internet (and computer-mediated communication in general) will become more pervasive but less explicit and visible. It will, to some extent, blend into the background of all we do\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n
{Source: Pew Research Center<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Internet of everything will be fully established<\/h3>\n
In the mainstream, we are generally guided by film and entertainment on terms such as artificial intelligence, big data, and even the Internet of Things. However, what will become increasingly evident is that there will be networks within networks, systems within systems, Internets within Internets, all of which are underpinned and connected by data, intelligence and seamless infrastructure. Essentially, the Internet of Everything, as defined by Cisco<\/a>, will be realised:<\/p>\n
Data will have an even greater influence on attitudes and behaviour<\/h3>\n
Following from the wealth of data that currently is and will continue to be available into the future, the capability to process and manipulate that data will also develop and improve. More importantly, the results from all of that processing will become a critical input to shaping individual opinions and perceptions, and ultimately behaviour and decisions. Patrick Tucker, author of The Naked Future: What Happens In a World That Anticipates Your Every Move?<\/i>, succinctly captured this anticipated occurrence:<\/p>\n
When the cost of collecting information on virtually every interaction falls to zero, the insights that we gain from our activity, in the context of the activity of others, will fundamentally change the way we relate to one another, to institutions, and with the future itself. We will become far more knowledgeable about the consequences of our actions; we will edit our behavior more quickly and intelligently.<\/em><\/p>\n
(Source: Pew Research Center<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The digital divide may widen<\/h3>\n
Although currently many countries worldwide are seeking to make the Internet more inclusive \u2013 by improving the accessibility and affordability of telecoms services, and through initiatives that improve the lives of persons at the bottom of the pyramid \u2013 a widening of the digital divide is still anticipated. However, to varying degrees, this widening may be relative. For example, within a society there might be an overall improvement in the standard of living, lifestyle and the access to and use of technology, but there will still be a relatively small minority (\u201cthe haves\u201d) that will still have access to very sophisticated services and facilities. As a result, there could be greater conflict and sense of unjustness by the \u201chave-nots\u201d (Source: Pew Research Center<\/a>).<\/p>\n
Increased avenues for mischief<\/h3>\n
Finally, by 2025, the Internet will not be a panacea for today\u2019s problems. They may actually be amplified, since human nature itself will not have changed considerably, if at all, in the next decade. Hence attitudes and behaviour such as \u201claziness, bullying, stalking, stupidity, pornography, dirty tricks, crime<\/i>\u201d, are likely to evolve and scale Source: Pew Research Center<\/a>). According to Llewellyn Kriel, CEO and editor in chief of TopEditor International Media Services:<\/p>\n
(Source: Pew Research Center<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Image credit: Anna Schiller<\/a> (flickr)<\/em><\/p>\n
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