The same company that has access to your calendar, e-mail, and search history also owns this. Sleep well.
(Credit: DARPA/Boston Dynamics)
A decade ago, we used to hear a lot more about Google’s informal motto: “Don’t be evil.” It doesn’t come up as much anymore, but those three words still lead off Google’s corporate code of conduct. And given some of the company’s recent acquisitions that are heavy on robotics and artificial intelligence companies, that’s probably a good thing.
But still, with an Internet giant also buying up the know-how to make killer robots, it’s not too hard to imagine something like the classic science-fiction conceits of SkyNet turning on its creators taking root at the Googleplex in Mountain View, Calif. “Don’t be evil” is a great startup motto, but what’s the old truism about power corrupting? Sometimes, it seems like Google is heading toward absolute power in some areas.
To be fair, my whole premise here is about 99 percent tongue-in-cheek. I don’t actually go to bed at night worrying that the touchless control on my Moto X is going to take touchless control of my life by the time I wake up. But … [Read more]
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