The internet turned 52 this year and has transformed human existence in the intervening years. More than 4.6 billion users worldwide — 60% of the global population — have access to the internet. For those with access (and those that will have it), communications, entertainment, politics, health care, music, literature, and most other aspects of life have been fundamentally changed. Digitization — moving from analog to digital data — is the driving force behind these changes, and the internet is the communications method that allows it to flourish.

However, figuring out how to manage the rapid acceleration of digitization is an ongoing challenge. Advancements in AI, machine learning, predictive technologies, and alternate reality technologies are presenting new opportunities, but significant technical challenges must be addressed for them to be realized.