People will be so connected via the internet that they will be able to create new digital "nations" with other people who share their interests, early internet pioneer David Hughes predicted in a report published by the Pew Research Center's Internet Project. As a result, Hughes says, traditional countries could have less influence over the people within their geographic boundaries. University of Michigan associate professor Nicole Ellison predicts that all this connectivity will also make the world a more empathetic place. Ellison tells the Pew Research Center that the internet will make people living in the developed world more aware of how difficult it is for people living elsewhere to find food, health care, clean water, and education. As a result, she says, people in developed nations will be inspired to work even harder to help solve these problems.
In 15 Years...
Learning will be easier than ever, predicts Matt Mead, the chief investment officer of Nesta, a UK charity focused on innovation. In a report published by the accounting firm Grant Thornton, Mead writes that educators will use widespread internet access to teach students more effectively. He says that teachers will be able to use virtual schools to give students the information they need, and that machine-learning technology will help teachers personalize the lessons on these websites based on students' strengths and weaknesses. And Earth might not be the only place where the internet will make it easier to obtain information. According to io9's George Dvorsky, there very well could be internet access on Mars by 2030. While that might sound like something out of science fiction, NASA is planning for interplanetary internet connections right now. In a 2012 test, International Space Station commander Sunita Williams controlled a robot located on the ground in Germany while she was in space.