Experts largely agree on how technology will change,...

Experts largely agree on how technology will change, but disagree widely on how those changes will affect society -- for better and worse -- said a Pew Research Center report released Tuesday (http://bit.ly/1fm2nl3). With Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center, Pew canvassed 1,500 Internet experts for their predictions on how technology will change life by 2025. Some of the consensus responses: There will be “a global, immersive, invisible, ambient networked computing environment;” more common wearable or implantable technology; and robust “intelligence analytical mapping of the physical and social realms,” Pew reported. The most affected business models will be finance, entertainment, education and content publishers across media, Pew said. Not all changes are seen as positive. “This is the sixth ‘Future of the Internet’ survey we have conducted since 2004, and for the first time most people are seeing and vividly describing as many potential negatives as they are identifying positives,” said Elon Professor Janna Anderson, a lead author of the report. “They worry about interpersonal ethics, surveillance, terror and crime and the inevitable backlash as governments and industry try to adjust.” The surveys were conducted from November to January, Pew said.