The Rise of the Google Empire


Google is using its billions to invest in technology that monitors everything we do. We already have our search engine history and email stored on servers—but Google is going a step further. In their largest acquisition ever, they’re paying 3.2 billion for Nest Labs. 

This company produces thermostats, smoke detectors, and soon all sorts of home-based "intelligent" wireless devices that will collect data to be controlled with a smartphone. With the expected advancements in this technology, Google will know when you’re home and can monitor the activities hooked to the “intelligent” devices.

Last year, Google’s vast financial resources scooped up nearly 2000 US patents. 



When Google acquired Motorola, they became interested in the patent for Motorola’s “temporary tattoo” identification patches. This little skin mark can store tons a plethora of personal data.
Read more here.










But what happens when a company worth billions buys out a fledgling robot company?  Google made the lucrative leap into the robotic world by acquiring Boston Dynamics, a robotics research company. Boston Dynamic’s founder Marc Raibert is ecstatic for Google’s financial resources.  Just imagine how Google’s billion-dollar research and development will launch us into the robotic age.

Google’s Boston Dynamics specializes in amazing animal-like robots. For instance, the Sand Flea is able to leap 30 feet in the air and land on a building rooftop. Then there’s Cheetah—able to run faster than 29 miles per hour. For more human-like robots, Atlas uses its legs to cover all sorts of terrain.

Already Boston Dynamics has built service robots to carry heavy equipment into the battlefield. Google is looking to work alongside our defense department to create an army of robots. Imagine this: Google’s Robot Army could go to war and the causalities would be technological, not human. Finally, war without irreplaceable loss. It's no longer science fiction.


Should we be concerned that one company is beginning to have so much information and access to everything we do?  Technology is something we’ve embraced, but are we sacrificing too much privacy?









We’re creating a system that will be easier to control. And who is in control? As for the advantages of robots, we should also remember that the robot would only be as good (or evil) as the one who programs it.

Maybe concern for Google and their robots is unnecessary, but will they always be on our side?









Image credits: Bing

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Dr. Todd Coleman

http://itthing.com/wp-content/uploads/google-is-watching1.png


Popular posts from this blog

Dreaming the Dream

Image
Dreaming big dreams about the future is easy for kids. The only thing standing in the way is time.  Kid’s dreams are not about skills, or opportunities, or even practicality. Those things come much later.  My grandson hopes to be professional soccer player when he grows up. This week, a small piece of his dream came true when his Boys and Girls Club was invited to participate in pre-game activities with the Seattle Sounders Football Club.  He got to suit up in a real jersey and walk on the field with a real pro player. Imagine a young soccer player looking up to who he hopes to be one day. If you haven’t taken the time to talk to a child about their future dreams—you should.  They believe. As we get older we sometimes forget that dreams fuel our hopes—and that's something we all need. So, do you still dream? Or have you left those childhood thoughts behind?  S pending time with children will  inspire you to believe agai
Read more

Sexy Selfies: Posting for attention

Image
We’ve all seen the “selfie” pix on Facebook—those self-taken images in varying forms of dress (or undress). Usually they’re female poses taken in public restrooms, dressing rooms, bedrooms, and lots of what used to be private space. Thanks to selfies and social media, it’s open season on privacy—and modesty. Do you have a social media “friend” who has become a serial selfie? Most often selfies are young girls sharing their sexiness with the world. Serial selfies post hundreds of pictures, so it’s hard to ignore the display. The question is why do they do it. While I don’t approve of the sexy display of serial selfies, insecurity is at the root. Selfies collect “likes” to boost morale. The attention received is like a balm to their broken spirits. But the dark side of exhibitionism is feeling used—not unlike the girl searching for love and giving away her body in hopes of finding love. Selfies seek approval. They're locked in a perpetual cycle of posting pi
Read more

Wild or Tame? Which One Are You?

Image
Finally! Research that explains why I act the way I do. Columbia University’s Motivational Science Center studied people’s activities and what brought them the most happiness. Even more telling were how those activities changed as they aged. Twenty-somethings tend to equate happiness with high-energy activities. Words like excited and ecstatic are usually attached to spontaneous things—even risky things—and living life full throttle.  Researchers labeled this Promotion Motivation —the urge to take chances, including career moves that may not work out. Happiness comes from happenings—the more happenings, the more happiness. By age forty, adults associate happiness with things running smoothly at work and home. It’s also about feeling secure in relationships. Keeping healthy matters more too. This behavior is called Prevention Motivation —and people are more concerned with preserving and maintaining the things they value. It appears that time ofte
Read more