Imagining the future of the Internet isn't easy. Indeed, for people like you and me, it's a slightly pointless exercise in science fiction fantasy that might end with, say, a scenario of nano-implants that allow us to upload the contents of our brain to someone else's. But we're only the dreamers; it's the visionaries who will actually shape the future of global communication.
Even for them, though, it's something of a challenge. While there's broad agreement among experts about the way technology is likely to develop over the next 10 to 15 years, there's little consensus about the impact those changes will have on our lives. Some believe that intelligent, autonomous online technology may cut us out of the loop and create grave dangers for humanity. Others believe that this is far-fetched.
English becoming the only online language is a likelihood, according to some; others disagree.
But one thing can be stated with confidence. Unlike the obscure scientists who were at the forefront of computer networking in the Sixties and Seventies and sowed the seeds of what we now call the Internet, today's forward-thinkers are debating these possibilities under enormous scrutiny from all quarters - not least from governments and global corporations, all of whom wish to secure their interests in a new era of global communication.
"The network is now mission-critical for too many people," says Jonathan Zittrain, author of The Future Of The Internet And How To Stop It, "while in the early days it was just experimental." And, as Ian Peter, co-ordinator of the Internet Governance Caucus (IGC), believes, it is usually in the interests of the most powerful organisations to maintain the status quo.
"The possibilities of the Internet are enormous," he says, "but as it gets bigger, it gets harder and harder to change. And so radical ideas are unlikely to come from the core. They're more likely to appear from small businesses in China or India."
Peter has made great efforts to fight one form of stasis in his work with the IGC, a collection of NGOs and academic organisations concerned with wresting control of the Internet away from the US government and assigning it to a global body such as the UN.
"People aren't aware of the unilateral control the US has over the net. This isn't an anti-US thing. If any country had the right to remove another country from the Internet it would be wrong. It doesn't matter that this power has never been exercised. But it has to be addressed to protect this quite precious thing and what it offers us. I believe strongly that it would create a safer world."
The US's primary concern is one of national security - and understandably so: an explosion in cybercrime is something that concerns many online strategists.
One of the major flaws of the Internet's construction is that it has no security layer. It was conceived in the belief that everyone trusted everyone else who was using it. The scientists who laid its foundations would, of course, have done things differently if they had foreseen how it would be used - indeed, some are astounded that the system isn't buckling more significantly under the strain.
But some of them go still further: they believe that completely replacing the Internet with a new, futureproof network that will adapt to whatever technology may throw at it is the only way forward.
David Clark, senior research scientist at MIT, was an Internet pioneer who is at the forefront of this work. He helped to launch Geni, an initiative from the US National Science Foundation that seeks to push the boundaries of computer networking and create a possible replacement for the Internet.
But talk of replacement is somewhat premature for the developing world, where mere Internet access is still way down a long list of needs.
According to a study done by the US's Pew Research Centre, the majority of Internet experts believe that passing technology on to those who don't yet have it should be the biggest priority.
But while some notable figures have been working tirelessly in this area for years, their efforts can be hamstrung by companies seeking to make a quick buck. Mike Jensen is an independent consultant based in South Africa who did pioneering work in this field, and still works with development agencies, NGOs and governments to assist with Internet and communications projects in Africa.
All of Africa's countries now have connectivity, but access is limited and expensive. "Communication charges are often 10 to 100 times more expensive than in developed countries," he says, "mainly due to the lack of infrastructure and the high prices charged by operators."
In many developing countries, cellphone growth is outstripping Internet growth - so it's unsurprising that it's the cellphone space that most visionaries are excited about - they believe that, eventually, the two will converge and become indistinguishable.
Historically, the architecture of the Internet has had trouble coping with the concept of mobility.
That's only now starting to be shaken off, following the launch of Apple's iPhone. But technology forecaster Paul Saffo believes that the iPhone is only a stepping stone to a tablet-style device that will revolutionise the way we browse the Web.
"Cellphone screens are too small, and laptops are incredibly awkward," he says. "But every consumer electronic company on the planet is working on a tablet device. Not only are they more convenient, they don't have a keyboard. This slashes the costs of production, and makes it multilingual. This has huge implications for the developing world."
But what about the content that we'll be looking at and interacting with in the future?
While virtual worlds such as Second Life are currently restricted to the highly computer-literate because of their less-than-intuitive interfaces, they will inevitably become easier to use, and much more popular.
"This will probably horrify parents," says Saffo, "this idea that their kids will spend time in online worlds. But in Silicon Valley, if someone plays World Of Warcraft and has risen to the ranks of Guild Master, that's something that goes on their CV. And employers are looking for it, because it means these people can set goals, motivate people and lead teams. We'll increasingly learn important life skills in virtual worlds."
In terms of more straightforward web content, web founder Sir Tim Berners Lee envisages the "semantic web", where computers become capable of analysing data rather than just presenting it to us Google-style.
The fledgling social networking site called Twine, brainchild of technology guru Nova Spivack, is showing the first signs of this semantic development.
While it might look like a cross between a number of existing websites such as Facebook and Wikipedia, its engine room is powered by what he calls "semantic understanding", where the website actively learns about you and your interests.
But as our lives become increasingly bound to the Internet, issues involving privacy become critical.
"It's hard not to talk about the future of technology without privacy being a central theme," says Lee Rainie from the Pew Research Centre.
Organisations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation are important in this regard. They're trying to work out what public policy should be in an online world that's changing incredibly rapidly.
Tim Berners-Lee's ultimate goal for the web was a scenario where the day-to-day bureaucracy of our daily lives would be handled entirely by machines talking to machines - and it seems likely that this will be the most crucial change: Internet traffic will no longer be dominated by human activity, but by machines talking to each other on our behalf.
On the simplest level, this could be a CCTV camera that's able to let us know when something unusual is happening on screen.
But talk to Sebastian Thrun, professor of computer science at Stanford University, and he'll tell you that machines are far better at understanding road signs than humans, that we really shouldn't be driving, and in 20 years' time, half of our vehicle miles will be driven by robots, connected to each other via the Internet.
You might think that any technological predictions written in the last 40 years would be incomplete without a mention of robots - but a 21st century Internet could finally see it become a reality. - The Independent