Forecast: How the Internet Will Look in 2050

Web hosting company Hostinger asked DALL·E 3, OpenAI’s image generation AI model, how the internet will look in 2050 and refined the results to get “images of the websites we might expect to visit in the future.”

Traditional computers and phones will become obsolete by 2050, replaced by virtual reality glasses, smart wearables, and holographic projectors. This allows for a more natural human interaction through voice commands, gestures, and even thoughts.

Advancements in AI and machine learning will transform online searches into highly personalized experiences based on the user’s needs, habits, search timing, and mood. Users will initiate searches with only thoughts and search results will look like a virtual environment with interactive 3D objects.

What’s more, people will be able to save relevant results directly into their memory through an inner dialogue with the superintelligence. The world’s most popular search engine Google might be completely replaced by AI models.

Hostinger believes that people will continue to create websites that will adapt to metaverses, virtual reality, and AI devices. Hostinger sees its future role in simplifying website building. The company shared its AI Website Builder is already moving in that direction – it understands speech-to-text commands and can create site content from a single prompt.

YouTube will offer a richer viewing experience through virtual and augmented reality, including 360-degree views, touch, and smell sensations, and will be able to “capture our lives from a third-person perspective.”

Hostinger predicts social media platforms will become massive virtual spaces for people to connect and engage in various activities like events and games as if they were in the same room. Users will be able to interact with just a touch or a thought.

When it comes to Wikipedia, visitors will be able to explore by region, rotating an interactive globe on its homepage. Additionally, users can implement a chip in their heads to store necessary information and rely on AI algorithms to evaluate what’s accurate and up to date.

By 2050, online shopping will look like physical shopping, thanks to advancements in augmented reality. Online retailers like Amazon will show 3D holographic product displays and let shoppers try on clothes virtually, among other immersive experiences.
While these predictions remain to be seen, Hostinger is certain that the future “holds exciting possibilities.”