Hindsight · review build · data not yet validated
Eight 'mostly agree' / 'mostly disagree' scenarios for 2020. share_agree and share_disagree are for the 578 invited experts; share_all_respondents adds 618 other participants (1,196 total), as the report prints both. No other quantified question found. Open-ended elaborations are not captured. Non-random sample.
In 2020, while "one laptop per child" and other initiatives [...] are successful on many levels, the mobile phone - now with significant computing power - is the primary Internet connection and the only one for a majority of the people across the world, providing information in a portable, well-connected form at a relatively low price.
pew-elon-imagining-2008-001
In 2020, people are more tolerant than they are today, thanks to wider exposure to others and their views that has been brought about by the Internet and other information and communication technologies. The greater tolerance shows up in several metrics, including declining levels of violence, lower levels of sectarian strife, and reduced incidence of overt acts of bigotry and hate crimes.
pew-elon-imagining-2008-002
In 2020, strict content controls are in place thanks to the efforts of legislatures, courts, the technology industry, and media companies. Those who use copyrighted materials are automatically billed by content owners, and Internet service providers automatically notify authorities when they identify clients who try to subvert this system.
pew-elon-imagining-2008-003
In 2020, people are even more open to sharing personal information, opinions, and emotions than they are now. The public's notion of privacy has changed. [...] As people's lives have become more transparent, they have become more responsible for their own actions and more forgiving of the sometimes-unethical pasts of others.
pew-elon-imagining-2008-004
In 2020, virtual worlds, mirror worlds, and augmented reality are popular network formats. To be fully connected, advanced organizations and individuals must have a presence in the "metaverse" and/or the "geoWeb." Most well-equipped Internet users will spend some part of their waking hours [...] at least partially linked to augmentations of the real world or alternate worlds.
pew-elon-imagining-2008-005
People have adjusted to hearing individuals dictating information in public to their computing devices. In addition "haptic" technologies based on touch feedback have been fully developed, so, for instance, a small handheld Internet appliance allows you to display and use a full-size virtual keyboard on any flat surface [...]. It is common to see people "air-typing".
pew-elon-imagining-2008-006
In 2020, the original Internet architecture is in the continuing process of refinement - it hasn't been replaced by a completely new system. [...] Search, security, and reliability on the Internet are easier and more refined, but those who want to commit crimes and mischief are still able to cause trouble.
pew-elon-imagining-2008-007
In 2020, well-connected knowledge workers in more-developed nations have willingly eliminated the industrial-age boundaries between work hours and personal time. Outside of formally scheduled activities, work and play are seamlessly integrated in most of these workers' lives. This is a net-positive for people.
pew-elon-imagining-2008-008