Imagining the Google Future

Lester67 writes "Business 2 put a bunch of big brains together to give us a peek at Google from 2015 to 2105. "Will it succumb to hubris and flame out like so many of its predecessors? Or will it grow into an omnipresent, omnipotent force--not just on Wall Street or the Web, but in society? We put the question to scientists, consultants, former Google employees, and tech visionaries like Ray Kurzweil and Stephen Wolfram. They responded with well-argued, richly detailed, and sometimes scary visions of a Google future." "

Comments

sure ... google will be around in 2015, right

[Surt]

I mean come on, does anyone believe they'll last another 9 years? They have basically no meaningful assets. A bunch of computers, some code, and an algorithm. They could be put out of business in a year by any of hundreds of software companies. Their stock dropped 1/5th of its value in a day when investors heard they fell below expectations on earnings!

Google could bring about the Singularity

[ikewillis]

They have the most computing power of anyone on earth. They're trying to sort the world's information. What better to do that with than strong AI?

Re:One Day Too Early

[Sen.NullProcPntr]

That's the problem, everyone has high expectation on Google now that even one slight mistake will be scrutinized and punished.

Was it a mistake or are they "playing by their own rules"?
From TFA:

Co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have always insisted they will run their 7-year-old company the way they want, even if it means ignoring stock market pressures to hit a widely watched earnings target.

Of course playing by your own rules on Wall Street may be a mistake.

Google will replace US Mail/Cell / Telephones/Maps

[digitaldc]

Given that Google is so well known and widely used today, Google might eventually create a gadget replace most mail, newspapers, magazines, maps and telephone calls.
They already offer tons of services for free, and eventually will branch out to mobile gadgetry.

In 2010 you will just carry around your own pocket Google Hand Unit and instantly communicate by voice or text with anyone anywhere, plot your map to find a route, and then read the news/web when you go to meet up with them.

Re:2105

[heatdeath]

I bet people sat around and wondered what the Carnegie Steel of 1995 would be like. I'm sure they had fun, but it probably wasn't worth the effort.

Haha, yeah, or standard oil. Oh wait, if it weren't split up into 34 different companies, several of which are the largest and most profitable companies in the world now (Exxon-mobile has the largest profit of any corporation in the world), it would be a freaking scary company. The daughter companies combined have an annual revenue of well over a trillion dollars. Can you imagine a world in which they'd been able to leverage their monopoly?

I think back then, a few people thought about the future, and that's why they decided to break it up.