This study conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, as well as Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center is the most recent of a series of “Future of the Internet” surveys where a selected group of experts have been invited to give their expectations on two opposite outcomes related to ten potential scenarios for 2020.

A summary of the conclusions along with one recurring theme of reasoning is the following:

a) 76% of the experts agreed that Google won’t make us “stupid” because advanced search engines can help solve problems created by too much information

b) 65% agreed with the statement that reading, writing, and the rendering of knowledge will be improved since language has always evolved to embrace new realities

c) 80% of the experts agreed that innovation will continue to catch us by surprise because even though there are basic trends evident now, spotting key technologies ahead of time has proved to be difficult

d) 61% responded that the Internet will remain as its founders envisioned, however many who agreed with the statement “most disagreements over the way information flows online will be resolved in favor of a minimum number of restrictions”

e) 55% agreed that advanced Internet users will still be able to communicate anonymously.