Has Google's Search Gone Sentient?

 well considering I was one of the speakers you can imagine that I find a little conflict with what you have to suggest. We don't work for Google - and Google had nothing to do with this talk. Their technology is their technology and their business practices are not the same thing.

 The talk is a metaphor for what we believe is the next wave of social media, replacing government structures as we know them today. I understand your cyncisism, I'm just not sure how rational it is.

thanks for posting! 

Visita Interiora Terrae Rectificando Invenies Occultum Lapidem

Well there is a lot of commentary to sift through here, so bare with me as we deal with the clumsiness of formatting discussions on RS.

You said: 

As to the noosphere, I look at that as another manifestation of some form of collective intelligence based on the formation of technology. It may just be another word for the same thing. 

And seriously- how can you say that a company's technology is somehow separate from their business practices?

Well for the simple reason that there is a clear deliniation between their technology and business practices. Their technology is the intellectual propert and the business practices are how they sell, distribute and market that property. Take for example ATT which has communication technology. That technology is pretty beneficial, even to something like the noosphere, while thier business practices marketing that can easily be suspect. I love 'The Lion KIng' but despise Disney Corp - 

Besides, the 'medium is the message' - the copyright holder is irrelevant there. 

Especially when there is sooo much power to be abused, and when those currently in power do nothing but abuse? And the part where 4/5 of the world will probably never have access to a computer. I could go on..

Well this wave has barely gotten started - the world has been adopting this technology and it has changed our behaviors in an incredibly short amount of time. There are many programs out there that are developing very inexpensive computers for disribution amongst third world counries. Even the cell phone has millions of users in third world countries already.

It's not the technology that is the problem, but rather how we govern and administer our laws of commerce around them. That's something social media could resolve rather easily. 

 Sorry to be such a downer, but when I see people who are obviously very intelligent who seem have complete trust of these ideas and entities my initial reaction is one of suspicion.

Well I appreciate skepticism and ultimately believe skepticism is well served to discover the potential I am suggesting. 

I really don't know you or what you stand for, I'm just a person who is concerned with the aggregation of technology/power/resources by the greedy.

I'm inspired by the ideas of R. Buckminster Fuller and I apply his ideas to media and commerce. What Bucky stands for I stand for. 

I do like the idea of exploring the universe's 'natural internet' or vacuum - and getting everyone connected through that. And yes the plants will teach you if you ask them to: ) Social media is great but potential for abuse of these technologies is very scary in these times. p.s. surprised there was no mention of clif high's web bot project. take good care