Week 11b - Future of Internet

The Future of Internet

The Internet has radically changed everyday life in our society. It has created new ways to connect with friends and family, disrupted the way we do business and rewired just about everything in between. However, the Internet and the World Wide Web are still constantly evolving and growing.

So, what is the future of the Internet? Here are some possible predictions:

1.  More People Will Use The Internet

Today's Internet has 1.7 billion users, according to Internet World Stats. This compares with a world population of 6.7 billion people. There's no doubt more people will have Internet access by 2020. Indeed, the National Science Foundation predicts that the Internet will have nearly 5 billion users by then. So scaling continues to be an issue for any future Internet architecture.

2. The Internet Will Be More Geographically Dispersed

Most of the Internet's growth over the next 10 years will come from developing countries. The regions with the lowest penetration rates are Africa (6.8%), Asia (19.4%) and the Middle East (28.3%), according to Internet World Stats. The Internet in 2020 will reach more remote locations around the globe.

3. Digital Revolution In Education (The Internet Vs. School Teacher)

With existing resources like Wikipedia and Khan Academy, the Internet currently provides access to education like never before. Information can be obtained by just a click. In addition, the use of the latest technology for learning purposes in schools are very common these days, such as using of tablets instead of normal paper worksheets. Not to mention about e-learning as well. Maybe by 2020, all exams will be conducted electronically too.

4. Improvement In Healthcare 

The Internet can provide the monitoring and access to information that helps people live longer, healthier lives and extend their awareness of the world around them. For instance, implantable or wearable networked devices on our body – maybe in a form of watch. These devices will offer great benefits, such as detecting and preventing diseases by alerting individuals and their medical professionals of vitamin deficiencies, irregular cell counts, degrading organ functions, or even early-stage cancer.

5. Crime Prevention

Surveillance technology and its regulation are already a hot topic today. As Internet capabilities continue to advance, we may have effectively invisible cameras nearly everywhere – even embedded in our clothing in near future.  On the one hand, recording the daily actions of citizens worldwide may bring a major decrease in crime, as visible crime becomes less likely to succeed. 

6. More Effective Communication Methods

Some people believe a more sophisticated network will take its place in the near future. Just about everything around us will be connected to this new Internet, and emerging technologies such as virtual reality and real-time language translation will be everywhere. In fact, real-time language translation technology will even be available for face-to-face conversations, according to some predictions. Further down the road, we may be able to do things with the Internet that seem like fantasy right now, such as email tangible objects, sign documents or authenticate logins with DNA, or even meet people using holographic technology.

Conclusion

The Internet and the World Wide Web have already transformed the world in many ways. Few would have predicted, 25 years ago, the progress we’ve already made. We can predict much of the likely technological innovation in the next 25 years, but how these powerful technologies are used will depend critically on the decisions society makes – or chooses not to make. While the possibilities seem endless, it is up to human beings to decide which changes are desirable, and which should be resisted.