Futurists have an easy job when it comes to predicting the future for information technology. The bottom line: It will look nothing like it looks today. Cisco Systems Inc. Futurist Dave Evan recently told a group of Canadian journalists that the future looks bright, but there will be plenty of challenges.

In five years, for instance, he says, we'll be creating the equivalent of 92 million Libraries of Congress. In 20 years, artificial brain implants will be available, and in 25 years, robots will replace all workers.

"Things are no longer growing at a linear rate," he said, "because of the law of large numbers, things are accelerating at an exponential rate."

Among his predictions:

• The cost of storage will drop. By 2029, we'll be paying just $100 for 11 petabytes of storage.
• By 2013, wireless network traffic will reach 400 petabytes a month, compared to the 9PB a month today.
• Each of us may have a virtual assistant--a digital creation--taking over the drudgery of online tasks, going through inboxes and monitoring e-Bay auctions.

For more on the Internet of the future:
- see this ITWorldCanada.com article