A recent report from Pew (News - Alert) Research came with an absolutely staggering opening line: this is the 25th anniversary of the creation of the World Wide Web, starting from the release of a paper on March 12, 1989 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee, in which he advanced the concept of an “information management” system that would one day become the Web as we know it today. But what does the future look like for the Web? The Pew Research report covers just that, and has some absolutely stirring possibilities.

One of the biggest points is that connectivity is really only going to increase. More devices will have a piece of the Web, and more places will have access to it, which will really only spur more access in more places as more people hear about it and more uses are found for it. “More” is one of the big watchwords of the day when it comes to the future of the Web, as things like augmented reality and the Internet of Things step in to take hold.

Yet not all future analysis simply sees more. Some see less as well, and note that the divide between the Internet haves and the Internet have-nots may widen to disastrous levels, potentially even triggering violence. Governments and corporations, sensing the vast power of the Web, will seek to get increasingly involved with this platform, out to take control to further more personal ends. Privacy will be under increasing fire, and users will often forced to make tradeoffs between convenience and privacy.

But despite the possibilities both good and ill, one point has become quite clear to the Pew Research project: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” There are a host of changes coming to the future, driven by a more ubiquitous Web, more connectivity, and further changes. Being ahead of these changes is the best place to be, as opposed to the alternative of being buried by these changes. Robert Cannon, an expert on Internet law and policy, asks one very important question of the future: “How will we provide for the humans who can no longer earn money through labor?” This may be one of the biggest changes; as robotics and 3D printing step in to remove a host of jobs from consideration in everyday life, how will we as a society respond to this? Will we expect these people to sink or swim in a new and unfamiliar environment? Will we offer some kind of help? Is the path to the future of the Web paved with the corpses of those who could not adapt or must we adopt a cradle-to-grave support system to ensure these people simply don't die, and in the process do incalculable damage?

The Web's future is uncertain at best. A system this large, this far-reaching, has so many inherent possibilities attached to it that the end result is hard to pin down by even the best of predictions. After all, a system that spans the globe and connects to millions—even billions—of users can hardly be reduced to “this will happen, then this.” But with so many possibilities, how do we as a society even begin to prepare of more than a handful of these? It's one of only many questions that must be answered in order to secure the future of the Web as we know it...or as we don't...yet.