| To be or not to be? Ask Google! |
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| Monday, 28 May 2007 | |||||
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Actually last declarations by Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt revealed that the main ambition of the company is to collect a number of data about users which ‘d be enough to allow the search engine to provide really effective and completely personalized answer to the thousands of queries managed every day by Google. According to Mr. Schmidt, the desired level of personalization will be reached when Google will be able to answer questions such as 'What should I do today?' or 'What job should I take?'. And he added: "You can imagine in 10 years, Google will say, 'Good morning Eric! You're late already, but, Eric, you're always late.' "
Of course, Google interest is not only limited to provide better services to users, but also to improve the effectiveness of web advertising and, subsequently, the company’s revenues. Even if it could be interesting to see the impact of so “tailored” services on people’s lives, the risks would be wide and go far beyond the “invasion of privacy” indeed, we should not underrate threats such as identity theft, which are more likely to be perpetrated against users who spread many personal Information through the web. A relevant part of Google’s research for the implementation of the “perfect algorithm” concern Security and data protection, since no customized service is possible without guarantees for users but we know how cyber criminals work and we perfectly know that it is not possible to be 100% sure about data safety online. Security indeed is Google’s biggest concern. Earlier this year the company announced that new privacy measures will be soon adopted by Google in order to make it more difficult to link online search requests with the people making them. Similar operations should have been performed by and by removing key pieces of identifying information from its system every 18 to 24 months. But as the shrewd observation by Vnunet.com managing Editor Iain Thomson highlighted: “The privacy angle is important but Google has always been clear this is an optional service and you can opt out at any time." Schmidt announced this project for the first time on May 11th, facing an audience of about 1,000 people, the magazine Information week reported . In that occasion “he also talked about Google's decision nearly two years ago to become more transparent. Minutes later, a moderator announced that the press would not be allowed to participate in the Democracy Forum's question-and-answer period with the Google CEO.”
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Google’s plans to increase the customization of its information services could turn out to be a 
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