Dream of global manipulation
‘‘values’’. If Google didn’t have enough data on a particular user its algorithms would identify a suitable ‘‘smart’’ product to sell him or her to gather that data.
Google dismissed the video as a ‘‘thought experiment’’ unrelated to any present or future plans. However, analysts said that the dystopian future it painted was plausible. Similar ideas can be found in some of the firm’s patent applications, including one for ‘‘detecting and correcting potential errors in user behaviour’’.
The leak comes at a particularly embarrassing time for Google as technology giants come under pressure from politicians over their harvesting of users’ data. One Times digital editor recently discovered that Google held almost a terabyte of data on him, the equivalent of 1024GB or tens of millions of Word files, including his search and browsing history, his movements, and his photos and emails.
In the eight-minute clip from 2016 the narrator says: ‘‘Usercentred design principles have dominated the world of computing for many decades but what if we looked at things a little differently? What if the ledger could be given a volition or purpose rather than simply acting as a historical reference?’’
He says that, to begin with, users would retain control over the goals set by the ledger, with ‘‘Google ... responsible for offering suitable targets’’. He added:
X research spokesman
‘‘Whilst the notion of a global good is problematic, topics would likely focus on health or environmental impact to reflect Google’s values as an organisation.’’
The footage explains how, initially, people could change their phone settings to ask Google for help to ‘‘eat more healthily’’, ‘‘protect the environment’’ or ‘‘support local businesses’’, for example. After choosing to protect the environment, Google would use pop-up notifications to nudge a user to take a shared Uber, rather than a singleoccupancy one, or to buy locally grown rather than imported fruit.
A spokesman for X told The Verge news website: ‘‘We understand if this is disturbing – it is designed to be. This is a thoughtexperiment ... It’s not related to any current or future products.’’