New Google, and Larry Page’s continuing mission to explore strange new technologies
Meanwhile, in a rare interview with Google’s search chief Amit Singhal, he says that Google search will one day be the “perfect personal assistant giving you benefit of all technical knowledge, enhancing your thought processes.” Clearly, Google is now painting its future with very broad strokes — but what image might resolve from those marks, I don’t think anybody knows.
Larry Page’s remarks were given in an interview with the Financial Times. The FT asked Page whether its original search-oriented mission statement is still accurate, in the face of recent acquisitions (robots, home automation, satellite internet access) and research into emerging technologies (space elevators, smart contact lenses, nanoparticles) — to which Page responded, “I think we do, probably” need a new mission statement. When asked what that statement might be, Page said, “We’re still trying to work that out.”
Some blogs have taken Page’s comments to suggest that Google is also looking to change its “don’t be evil” motto, along with a new mission statement. Such an eventuality is possible, but unlikely — and indeed, the FT interview notes that, “Page … is not shrinking an inch from the altruistic principles or the outsized ambitions that he and co-founder Sergey Brin laid down in seemingly more innocent times.” Plus, can you imagine the negative press if Google publicly backed down from “don’t be evil”? (And remember, it’s always been an unofficial motto.)
Google Now already does a pretty good job of predicting what you might search for – and then displaying it before you have the chance
The AFP interview with Amit Singhal, the guardian of Google’s crown jewels — its search algorithms — makes for an interesting counterpoint to Page. Singhal admits to being a massive Star Trek nerd, and that the ultimate goal of Google search is to provide an experience much like the Star Trek computer. “I imagined a future where a starship computer would be able to answer any question I might ask, instantly,” said Singhal. “We’re closer to that dream than I ever thought possible during my working life.” Looking a bit further into the future, Singhal envisions a search engine that is the “perfect personal assistant giving you benefit of all technical knowledge, enhancing your thought processes.”
Page and Singhal’s differing views of Google’s future can be mostly ameliorated by the simple act of following the money. Even though Google’s PR and marketing focus on mobile, wearables, robots, internet access, and other emerging areas of technology, the company’s revenue stream is still almost entirely derived from search and display advertising. As I’ve discussed before, Google can’t just abandon its only serious source of income — but at the same time, it desperately needs to find the Next Big Thing, in case search suddenly dries up (unlikely) or a startup drinks its milkshake (more likely).
Google’s co-founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin (in the car), have been investigating new, non-search products for a number of years now.
This bifurcated approach tallies neatly with last week’s appointment of Sundar Pichai as Product Chief — a newly minted position that approximates the role of a conventional Chief Operating Officer — allowing Larry Page to distance himself from the day-to-day operation of the Google The Search Company and focus on New Google. It would seem that Larry Page is actively moving to stave off the innovator’s dilemma — the unfortunate trap that many monopolistic companies fall into, where new ideas are rejected because they don’t cater to the needs of existing customers.
What the New Google might be is anyone’s guess. Google has its fingers in so many pies that, theoretically, it could become a purveyor of robots, or the world’s best ISP, or a player in the Big Pharma race towards indefinite life extension. Or maybe Google will just take the path of least resistance and try to put its search and advertising products in front of every eyeball, no matter where they are or what they’re doing, via smartphones, smartwatches, Google Glass, smart contact lenses, and no doubt myriad devices and new types of display that are yet to be invented. In any case, Google’s future looks rather bright.