A tool that could have empowered the people but became a tool for mass surveillance and population control.
History will underline that it could have been the basis for radically inclusive societies, where networked communities could actively define their collective future. Juan Ortiz Freuler, a policy fellow, and Nnenna Nwakanma, the interim policy director for Africa at the Web Foundation, wrote, “Unless we see a radical shift soon, the internet as we know it will likely be recalled as a missed opportunity. Whether historians of the future judge this to be good or bad will depend on whether we can make the societal choice to embed democratic values and human rights into the design and implementation of these systems.” In the next 50, information, communication and AI technology show every sign of being even more so. Micah Altman, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and head scientist in the program on information science at MIT Libraries, wrote, “The late historian Melvin Kranzberg insightfully observed, ‘Technology is neither good nor bad nor is it neutral.’ In the last 50 years, the internet has been transformative and disruptive. Some of these comments are included below. Many described the current state of techlash as a catalyst that will lead to a more inclusive and inviting internet. The cautious optimism expressed by many of the experts canvassed for this report grew out of a shared faith in humanity. Some responses are lightly edited for style and readability. Many of the answers touch on multiple aspects of the digital future and are not neatly boxed as addressing only one part of the story. They are gathered under broad, overarching ideas, rather than being tied to the specific themes highlighted above. The following sections share selections of comments from technology experts and futurists who elaborate on the ways internet use has shaped humanity over the past 50 years and consider the potential future of digital life.
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