4 ms·
It is creepy how Google Idea's projects all seem to be military type projects. It gives the impression that Google is actively using its social graph to do poli
by guelo 13y ago
It is creepy how Google Idea's projects all seem to be military type projects. It gives the impression that Google is actively using its social graph to do police work.
http://www.google.com/ideas/projects/ http://www.google.com/ideas/projects/
- ender7 13y agoWhile "Google Ideas" makes it sound like a random VC fund or corporate "vision & innovation" wankery, according to that website: Google Ideas is a think/do tank that explores how technology can enable people to confront threats in the face of conflict, instability or repression. Their list of projects makes much more sense in that light.
- coldtea 13y agoOr, you know: "is a think/do tank that explores how technology can enable repression."
- psbp 13y agoIn America, repression is freedom.
- INTPenis 13y agoAnd don't we have relative freedom? We are all free to sit and read news on a website instead of working 6-7 day weeks to support our families. In a sense you can understand the perspectives of some western governments, because they think that we are better off than under-developed nations. And as long as they think that I believe two things will continue to happen. The hegemony will prevail, and its denizes will remain apathetic to its off shore actions.
- coldtea 13y ago>We are all free to sit and read news on a website instead of working 6-7 day weeks to support our families. Speak for yourself. Most people would be out of their homes pronto is they didn't work 6-7 day weeks -- and tons of them already are on the streets or trailers...
- BrandonMarc 13y agoYep. Keep the people worried about their own homes, and they'll have little time, energy, or brainpower to worry about larger problems.
- stefanix 13y agoIt appears you are implying that people in the US are well off because they have a lot of free time. Funny/sad thing is that this is far from reality. People in the US work more than almost any other nation in the world.
- INTPenis 13y agoYes there are signs that the empire is cracking, but I can only go on rumor and news media since I'm in Sweden. Though when I use the word hegemony, I definitely include us here in Sweden.
- wintersFright 13y agoFor a scary conclusion to the use of social graphs and drones, see this TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_suarez_the_kill_decision_shouldn_t_belong_to_a_robot.html http://www.ted.com/talks/daniel_suarez_the_kill_decision_sho...
- mark_l_watson 13y ago+1 thanks, that was interesting. Good point on the destabilizing influence of putting excess power back into the hands of a very small number of people.
- davidhollander 13y agoI think this page supports your assessment: http://www.google.com/ideas/projects/arms-visualization/ http://www.google.com/ideas/projects/arms-visualization/ > "Global illicit networks — from drug smuggling and arms dealing to human trafficking and organ harvesting — affect millions of people across the world, generating over $2.1 trillion every year. Existing, publicly available information about illicit networks is often not presented in a format that allows the patterns of trade to be easily understood. Applying the power of data visualization to this information can enable a greater understanding of the underlying mechanics of these networks, which in turn can lead to much more targeted and effective efforts to counter them." This paragraph makes it sounds like they are interested in illicit activity in a general and abstract sense and are considering participating in the War on Drugs.
- jlgaddis 13y agoI skimmed over the Google+ page for "Google Ideas"[0] and it was interesting to see how many of the projects they are working on relate to current world events, actions in the Middle East, "terrorism", and such... all under the premise of analyzing "big data". I wonder who else, besides Google, has "big data" that they'd like to analyze...