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SienaPopescu
Mrs.Lucarelli
ComparativeCivilizations
13January2016
GoogleLeaderofGlobalTechnology
Everyminute,thereareover200,000,000Googlesearchesconductedbyusers(
Google
SearchStatistics
1).Thismeansmillionsareseekinganswersandinformation,typingupemails
anddocuments,travelingtonewlocationsasdirectedbyGooglesnavigationsystems,enjoying
aninfinitelyextendedplaylistofmusic,andstoringimagesanddata,allwhilekeepingtrackof
theirschedules.AllofGooglesprovidedservicesareeasilyviewedtobeleapsandbounds
aheadofthoseofothersearchengines.Essentially,Googleiswhatallseventypercentofthe
worldsinternetusersrelyontonavigatethecomplicationsofasingleday(Sterling1).
However,isthissearchenginemethodologyreallyjustthataninnocentsourceofinformation
andwayofcommunication?Manyarebeginningtoarguethatperhapsthecompanyisadvancing
tooquicklyforitsowngoodorforthegoodofthepopulation.Awaveofnewtechnologyhas
crashedontheshoresofsciencebecauseoftherapidadvancementsofthecompanytheworldis
amidstaGooglerevolution.
WhenGooglewasfoundedonthefourthofSeptemberin1998byLarryPageandSergey
Brin,theintentbehinditsconceptwassimple:tobecomethebestsearchenginepossibleby
appealingtotheusersthroughsimplicityandclarity(OurHistoryinDepth1).Theplanwas
straightforwardenoughtobeeffectiveincaptivatinguserssoonenough,millionsofpeople
reliedsolelyonGoogle.

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Itisnowbothclearandimpressivehowvastthecompanyhasbecome.Firstitwas
throughtheintroductionofGoogleMail,orGmail,whichlargelyreplacedotheremailprograms.
ThenitwasthroughGoogleMaps,givingdirectionsanddestinations,aswellastrackingthe
usersmovementsandtravels.ThiswasfollowedbyGoogleCalendarwhichservedtomonitor
onesscheduleandevents.GoogleDrivewasbornsoonafter,takingchargeoverbusiness/
schooldocumentsanddata,andonitsheelswasGoogle+andGooglePlaytoreignsocialmedia
aswellasmusicandgames.Nowallofthiscancomeintoperspective:Googlecontrolsan
enormousportionofthepopulationsinteraction,entertainment,businesses,andeducation.
Withitsgrowth,theprovidergainedaccesstothepersonalinformationofeveryuser
worldwide.Infact,thishasreachednewlevelsofconcernwithcountriesinEuropeFrance,
Germany,England,Italy,Spain,andtheNetherlandshaveallscrutinizedGooglesprivacy
policies,eachalsoexpressingconcernfortheirnationalsecurity.Thecompanynotonlyhas
accesstoindividualapplicationpersonaldata,butitcannowcompileitfrommanysources,
meaningitcantakeinformationfromGoogle+,Drive,andCalendar,forexample,andcanthen
linkitalltogetherasonelargersourceofinformation.Thismeansunrestrainableaccessto
anythingstoredonthesearchengine,whichcanundoubtedlyendangertheprivacyofnotonlyan
individual,butalsoacountry.ThisgoestoshowhowGooglehasbeenincreasingitspowerand
controlovereveryaspectofdailylifethroughtechnology.
Therevolutionarycompanyhascreatedelectronicswhichhadpreviouslybeendescribed
asfuturisticconceptsonlyinsciencefictionstories,books,andmovies.AnexampleisGoogle
Glass,whichisapairofglassesthathasallthefunctionsofacomputerandcanbecontrolled
withthesimplemotionsofoneshead(GlassatWork1).

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EvenmoreremarkableisthefactthateventheUSMilitaryhasacontractwithGoogle,
andthetwoentitiesarecollaboratingtodesignandconstructadvancedmilitarytechnology.On
December30,2015,oneofthejointprojectswascutoffwhenthemilitaryrefusedtocontinue
workingwiththehightechgrouponthistask.Previously,theyweredevelopingamachine
knownastheLS3,alsocalledthebigdog,thatcouldcarryupto400poundsofequipmenton
abattlefield,allowingsoldierstomoveeffortlessly,unburdenedbyweight.TheLS3hadthe
capacitytoobeycommands,visualandverbal,aswellastonavigateruggedterrainrapidly.
However,theplanwasdrawntoacloseduetonoiseconcerns,asthemachinesmayhavebeen
tooloudtouseincombatatleastthiswasthereasonprovidedtothepublic.However,itis
suspectedthatthetruereasonfortheabruptendtotheprojectisthatGooglemayhavehad
secondthoughtsaboutdevelopingmilitarytechnology.(Roberts1.)
Fromitsoriginasahumblesearchengine,itiseasytosaythatGooglehasevolvedinto
thetechnologicalleaderofthemodernworld.Controllingeverythingfromsocialmediato
militaryprogress,itisexercisingitsgreatabilitytospearheadanewpathfortheworld,perhaps
apathalongwhichtimeitselfisaccelerated.Googlerefusestobeconfinedbytechnological
limitationsbecauseitsetsitsown,inventingandinnovatingatanunbelievablerateincomparable
tothedevelopmentofothersearch,software,computing,andcloudcompanies.Itsprogressis
whatbringssomanyusersintoitshands,anditsimmensenumberofusersiswhatensures
progress,forallinformationsubmittedtoGooglecanbeusedfortheexpansionofitsdatabases.
Intheend,thereisnopreventingitswealthofknowledgefromaidinginthecreationofnew
technologythatwillprovetoeithersecuretheplaceofmanyconflictsandsetbacksorgreatly
pushtheworldforward,hopefullyinasecureandcontrolledway.

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WorksCited

"OurHistoryinDepthCompanyGoogle."
OurHistoryinDepthCompanyGoogle
.Web.
03Jan.2016.

"OurHistoryinDepthCompanyGoogle."
OurHistoryinDepthCompanyGoogle
.N.p.,
n.d.Web.03Jan.2016.

"USMilitaryShelvesGoogleRobotPlanover'noiseConcerns'BBCNews."
BBCNews
.N.p.,
n.d.Web.03Jan.2016.