Computing science: drivers of change and future standards - Towards collaborative intelligence

The number of users connected to the Internet exceeded 3.5 billion in 2017, representing over 46% of the world's population.

The major trends described in the 1996 and 2008 versions of this article have produced the expected effects, with an accelerating trend.

Several services, such as Google search and Facebook, have well over a billion users.

More than half of all users connect to the Web using mobile terminals instead of PCs, which will profoundly change the way the Internet is used.

Web standards define an Open Web Platform that gives application developers extraordinary scope for deploying modern applications on vast reservoirs of data.

This article is divided into three complementary parts: the standards of the future (2020-2040), the five drivers of change, and the consequences for businesses and individuals:

• the first part – standards of the future (2020-2040) – describes the main principles that have enabled the Internet to become the universal platform for designing and distributing IT applications. This knowledge is indispensable to all those who influence IT developments;

• the second part – the five drivers of change – is an update of the previous article. The continuous progress we have seen over the past 50 years will, however, reach the limits of technology over the next decade. This part is especially aimed at those who want to understand the causes of IT evolution;

• the third part – consequences for businesses and individuals – helps us understand and anticipate the revolutions brought about by the spread of these technologies.