#The World Since Google

Ben Swift, School of Cybernetics

University of the Third Age (U3A)

#c/c/c group

The code/creativity/culture group (c/c/c) is a research group within the Research School of Computer Science. Our goal is to create spaces for talking about the way that code (software), creativity (especially the arts) and culture (life) intersect in the modern world.

https://cs.anu.edu.au/code-creativity-culture/

code / creativity / culture

culture (noun). all the knowledge and values shared by a society

wordnik.com/words/culture

#nope.

a short, incomplete, mostly wrong history of the internet since 1996

#Google’s mission

Google’s mission is to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful

https://www.google.com.au/about/

#it’s all about the connections

#the secret sauce

#2008: Android

#talk

who finds Google:

  • reliable?
  • usable?
  • useful?

but…

(there’s always a but)

#talk

what (and how much) do you pay for stuff online?

  • search results?
  • email?
  • news?
  • calendars?

#the original sin?

#AdWords auction

the most brilliant minds of my generation…

#Alphabet annual revenues

80%-90% of profit comes from advertising

#surveillance capitalism

#a long bow?

#can I see your algorithm?

#SEO

#Google?

cui bono?

#what’s to be done?

but…

(the hope-filled third act bit)

#GDPR

General Data Protection Regulation

#people don’t wanna pay for stuff

#Google’s mission, revisited

Google’s mission is to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful

https://www.google.com.au/about/

#what can I do?

know your footprint

make informed choices

(perhaps) pay for things?

#I’m not anti-Google…

#open questions

  • are you willing to pay for your search results? news? email?
  • does Google owe traditional journalism a business model?
  • is data the new oil, or the new uranium?
  • has Google changed the culture?

🤔