(Caching this important piece here for posterity..)
Googles Earth
By WILLIAM GIBSON
I actually think most people dont want Google to answer their questions, said the search giants chief executive, Eric Schmidt, in a recent and controversial interview. They want Google to tell them what they should be doing next. Do we really desire Google to tell us what we should be doing next? I believe that we do, though with some rather complicated qualifiers.Science fiction never imagined Google, but it certainly imagined computers that would advise us what to do. HAL 9000, in 2001: A Space Odyssey, will forever come to mind, his advice, we assume, eminently reliable before his malfunction. But HAL was a discrete entity, a genie in a bottle, something we imagined owning or being assigned. Google is a distributed entity, a two-way membrane, a game-changing tool on the order of the equally handy flint hand ax, with which we chop our way through the very densest thickets of information. Google is all of those things, and a very large and powerful corporation to boot.
We have yet to take Googles measure. Weve seen nothing like it before, and we already perceive much of our world through it. We would all very much like to be sagely and reliably advised by our own private genie; we would like the genie to make the world more transparent, more easily navigable. Google does that for us: it makes everything in the world accessible to everyone, and everyone accessible to the world. But we see everyone looking in, and blame Google.
Google is not ours. Which feels confusing, because we are its unpaid content-providers, in one way or another. We generate product for Google, our every search a minuscule contribution. Google is made of us, a sort of coral reef of human minds and their products. And still we balk at Mr. Schmidts claim that we want Google to tell us what to do next. Is he saying that when we search for dinner recommendations, Google might recommend a movie instead? If our genie recommended the movie, I imagine wed go, intrigued. If Google did that, I imagine, wed bridle, then begin our next search.
We never imagined that artificial intelligence would be like this. We imagined discrete entities. Genies. We also seldom imagined (in spite of ample evidence) that emergent technologies would leave legislation in the dust, yet they do. In a world characterized by technologically driven change, we necessarily legislate after the fact, perpetually scrambling to catch up, while the core architectures of the future, increasingly, are erected by entities like Google.
Cyberspace, not so long ago, was a specific elsewhere, one we visited periodically, peering into it from the familiar physical world. Now cyberspace has everted. Turned itself inside out. Colonized the physical. Making Google a central and evolving structural unit not only of the architecture of cyberspace, but of the world. This is the sort of thing that empires and nation-states did, before. But empires and nation-states werent organs of global human perception. They had their many eyes, certainly, but they didnt constitute a single multiplex eye for the entire human species.
Jeremy Benthams Panopticon prison design is a perennial metaphor in discussions of digital surveillance and data mining, but it doesnt really suit an entity like Google. Benthams all-seeing eye looks down from a central viewpoint, the gaze of a Victorian warder. In Google, we are at once the surveilled and the individual retinal cells of the surveillant, however many millions of us, constantly if unconsciously participatory. We are part of a post-geographical, post-national super-state, one that handily says no to China. Or yes, depending on profit considerations and strategy. But we do not participate in Google on that level. Were citizens, but without rights.
The Committee to Nuke Elysium 
in which nice web site, i adore the colours
LikeLike
Great job, always enjoy reading your posts.
LikeLike
I’ve read some good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting.
LikeLike
Admiring the time and effort you put into your blog and in depth information you provide. It’s nice to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed material. Great read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.
LikeLike
Hi there, I enjoyed The Tech Gonzo Diary » Gibson on Google. It was good. View my blog sometime, it all about Winter Park, FL Real Estate.
LikeLike
I am really loving the theme/design of your blog. Do you ever run into any web browser compatibility issues? A couple of my blog visitors have complained about my site not working correctly in Explorer but looks great in Chrome. Do you have any tips to help fix this problem?
LikeLike
Hello, I absolutely have a ball reading your posts, through you as a remedy for the gigantic post!
LikeLike
I wish more people would annul sites like this that are in actuality profitable to read. With all the balls up floating around on the net, it is rare to pore over a place like yours instead.
LikeLike
Thank you for making the sincere try to provide an explanation for this. I feel very strong about it and would like to be informed more. If it’s OK, as you attain extra intensive knowledge, would you thoughts adding extra posts very similar to this one with additional information? It would be extraordinarily helpful and helpful for me and my colleagues.
LikeLike
Good Way To Make Money Online?: I have a forum where I make about $200 a month from adsense
LikeLike
Thank you so much, it was bothering me that I could not figure this out. Thank you again!
LikeLike
Your blog would increase in ranking if you post more often.
LikeLike
Good write-up, I am regular visitor of oneˇs site, maintain up the nice operate, and It is going to be a regular visitor for a long time.
LikeLike
Thanks for making the trustworthy attempt to discuss this. I believe very robust approximately it and would like to read more. If it’s OK, as you gain extra extensive knowledge, would you mind including extra articles very similar to this one with additional info? It would be extremely useful and helpful for me and my friends.
LikeLike
hey, this ascendancy be scant offtopic, but i am hosting my place on hostgator and they determination suspend my hosting in 4days, so i would like to request you which hosting do you use or recommend?
LikeLike
There is obviously a bunch to identify about this. I consider you made various good points in features also.
LikeLike
Fantastic goods from you, man. I’ve remember your stuff previous to and you’re just extremely magnificent. I really like what you have obtained right here, certainly like what you are saying and the way in which in which you say it. You’re making it enjoyable and you continue to care for to stay it smart. I can’t wait to read far more from you. That is actually a wonderful web site.
LikeLike
P.S. Let me know If it’s Alright With you.
LikeLike
My name is high Priest Dias and I have over 30 years experience in the Black Magic Spells, witchcraft and love spells. I dont make false promises: I cast spells for you only if I can truly help you. I guarantee an honest, powerful and fast help! You need the most serious help for your most serious problems
blackmagicspells.co.cc or 0044 7017450013
LikeLike
brilliantly insightful article. If only it was as easy to implement some of the solutions as it was to read and nod my head at each of your points 😛
LikeLike
Through my examination, shopping for consumer electronics online can for sure be expensive, nevertheless there are some tips that you can use to acquire the best bargains. There are usually ways to locate discount offers that could help to make one to come across the best electronics products at the smallest prices. Interesting blog post.
LikeLike
I love the dear information you offer to your articles. I’m able to bookmark your website and feature my children have a look at up here generally. Im fairly positive theyre gonna be informed a great deal of new stuff here than any one else!
LikeLike
I’m extremely a new comer to the web and necessary to review this subject. Thought it absolutely was an excellent article well written and helpful. I’ll definitely be going back to your internet site to learn more articles as i loved this..
LikeLike
what is the best seo software to check backlinks?
LikeLike
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say that I’ve truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. After all I?¦ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
LikeLike
Do you have a spam issue on this website; I also am a blogger, and I was wanting to know your situation; we have created some nice procedures and we are looking to trade strategies with others, please shoot me an e-mail if interested.
LikeLike