Text is not Dead

Google is a remarkable power, without a doubt. Close to their ten-year anniversary, David Smith wrote about this growing power in an article. In quoting Andrew Keen, he points out one of the major downfalls of Google being a giant that cannot be toppled:

But Keen has a warning about the gatekeepers of cyberspace. ‘They have amassed more information about people in 10 years than all the governments of the world put together. They make the Stasi and the KGB look like the innocent old granny next door. This is of immense significance. If someone evil took them over, they could easily become Big Brother.’

As Stan Lee poignantly puts it, “with great power comes great responsibility.” And, Google addresses that responsibility with the motto, “don’t be evil.” I think this is a bit too simple. According to Josh McHugh’s article in Wired, Sergey Brin, one of the founding father’s of Google, is the company’s 29-year-old moral compass. One person wrestles with the ethical issues growing out of one of the most powerful companies in the world- one person. Brin is the defining element in what is “evil.” The concept is great in theory:

It’s built around the recognition that everything we do in connection with our work at Google will be, and should be, measured against the highest possible standards of ethical business conduct. We set the bar that high for practical as well as aspirational reasons: Our commitment to the highest standards helps us hire great people, who then build great products, which in turn attract loyal users.

However, nothing is as black and white as Google’s policy would indicate. One example is the issue with China. As explained by Wired, when the Chinese government, anticipating dissent among the citizen, shut down access to Google, the compromise was a filter. Those in China could use Google for everything but certain searches, such as human rights. Those particular searches directed the user to a government-approved page. I wonder how that arrangement factored into the overly simple mantra of “don’t be evil.” Evil has the connotation of being extreme. A better motto may be, “always be good” or “do the right thing.” Not upholding the golden standards of Google is not necessarily evil, but the company walking a thin moral line.