(techno music)
- Okay, so you know that Black Mirror episode
where a giant tech company has been
analyzing user data for decades
and now it's using that information
to shape human behavior by changing our phones
and shipping us products to improve our lives?
Oh wait, that's...
(techno music)
Okay, so that actually isn't a Black Mirror episode,
but it sure sounds like it.
It's actually the plot of nearly nine-minute long
internal video from Google.
So what is this video?
And what does it say about Google's future?
The video is only meant to be used internally.
Apparently as a thought experiment
to provoke discussion about the possibilities of data.
It was created in 2016 by Nick Foster,
the Head of Design at what used to be known as Google X.
That's the company's moonshot factory,
where they make things like hot air balloons
that deliver internet connections.
The video was supposed to stay internal,
but my colleague Vlad Savov obtained a copy of it.
If you wanna watch the full thing,
you can do it at theverge.com.
We'll have a link in the description.
Here's what Google had to say to us about the video.
We understand if this is disturbing.
It is designed to be.
This is a thought experiment by the design team
from years ago that uses a technique known as
speculative design to explore uncomfortable ideas
and concepts in order to provoke discussion and debate.
It's not related to any current or future products.
And you know what?
I agree with them.
This video is disturbing.
It's really weird and eerie.
There are references to Pinocchio,
Harry Potter, Richard Dawkins.
There are closeups of insects and human faces.
It's just meant to feel like a sci-fi film.
The video basically makes one grand comparison.
What if user data is like DNA,
but for our behavior?
What if, like we were able to sequence DNA,
to the benefit of our health and medicine,
we could somehow sequence user data
to make similarly grand improvements?
In proposing this idea, Google brings up a
number of fascinating possibilities.
But it also brings up a ton of potential
ethical and privacy concerns in the process.
The central idea presented early on
is the concept of a ledger.
That's basically the word they're gonna use
to refer to all the data that they collect
and assemble on you.
- [Narrator] This codified version of who we are
becomes ever more complex.
Developing, changing, and deforming
based on our actions.
In disregard this ledger of our data
may be considered a Lamarckian epigenome.
- [Jake] The Lamarckian epigenome he just mentioned
refers to a pre-Darwinian theory on evolution.
Which isn't actually that important.
Really, the science reference is just
there to frame the idea of a file
that collects all the data generated on us.
Which can then pass down to future generations
like your children or even just the population at large.
To impact the future and their behavior.
And that's where it starts to get a little weird.
Because the video introduces the idea
that maybe your data doesn't belong to you.
- [Narrator] What if we thought of ourselves
not as the owners of this information,
but as custodians, transient carriers or caretakers.
- That drawing with the weird blobby humans
is really creepy and not just because of the drawing.
It basically says that I don't own my data,
but my data belongs to my entire lineage
if not my entire society and all societies to come.
Which is a huge leap about how we think
about data privacy.
(suspenseful music)
We're currently freaking out about
Facebook data leaking.
This is talking about creating a repository
of generations' worth of data to be worked
and studied upon forever.
The video imagines a number of ways
in which this data could be used.
It's starts out pretty simple.
- [Narrator] Initially, the notion
of a goal-oriented ledger may be user-driven.
As an organization, Google would be responsible
for offering suitable targets for a user's ledger.
Whilst the notion of a global good is problematic,
topics would likely focus on health
or environmental impact to reflect Google's values
as an organization.
Once the user selects a volition for their ledger,
every interaction may be compared
to a series of parallel options.
- This is basically like your phone's assistant
making suggestions based on what it knows you like.
So if you're trying to be more environmentally friendly
it might suggest you take an Uber pool home.
Or buy organic bananas.
But listen to that one more time,
and pay close attention to the phrasing here.
- [Narrator] Initially, the notion
of a goal-oriented ledger may be user-driven.
- Initially, the notion of a goal-oriented ledger
may be user-driven.
The implication here is that eventually Google
or some grand AI will start taking on a
much larger role in your decision making.
The AI might start to be proactive about going
out and gathering data on you,
so that it can start providing even more services.
In the example given, the ledger is missing data
about your weight.
So it goes to incredible lengths to get it.
It uses the data it knows about you
to create the perfect scale for you.
And uses your design interests to design the scale.
And then 3D prints the scale and offers
to sell it to you.
All so that it can pull that weight data back
into its system to know more and more about you.
And again, this isn't all that far
from what's possible today.
Google and Facebook both serve ads and news based
on your interests, and sometimes that's helpful.
I read articles all the time that I'm served.
But the added benefit for those companies,
that with every article I click on
or don't click on, they're getting more information
that they can then use to tailor even more products
and services to my tastes.
Not to mention, a lot of us wear wearable devices
that send information back up to those companies' servers
which they can then use to suggest health tips to us.
(slow techno music)
In the final portion of the video,
it jumps ahead to a world where Google has decades
if not generations of data.
And with that information, the company can map
patterns of behavior, or even disease,
mental illness, and social issues.
It concludes in the suggestion that the ledger
can change from a system that collects data
to one that uses data to actively solve problems
for individuals, if not entire populations.
These are incredible possibilities.
And there may even be some reality there.
But the one thing the video never does
is question whether it should be done
or if it can be done ethically.
It never asks if this data is really as
valuable as they make it out to be
or how we can scientifically prove any of this out.
I actually take a lot of issue with the premise
of this video.
I don't think my data is really
that representative of me.
It's just these residual points left over
for advertisers to target stuff to me.
It's not human behavior.
And on top of that, this data isn't even
representative of all humans.
It's just for Google users.
What's most scary to me right now,
is that all this video has presented as possible,
and there's really no one right now
that can stop it or put a check on it.
There's no universal ethics regulator
that can make sure that tech companies
aren't messing with their users' lives.
There's no one making sure that any
experiments are being conducted in a safe fashion
or that changes are being made that actually help people.
This kind of stuff is already happening.
Several years ago, Facebook briefly altered its
news feed to see if it could make people
happier or sadder.
And it worked.
Facebook was ready to alter people's emotions.
This is a giant tech company using data
to manipulate humanity.
And again, Google says that this video was a
thought experiment and it's not reflective
of any current or future products.
But even if that's the case, this is still a
scary glimpse into the thinking in Silicon Valley.
These companies are awake to the possibilities
arising from our data.
We should be too, or else one day,
it might not be ours.
(glass cracks)
- Thanks for watching.
If you have a chance, you should definitely
watch the whole video because it is fascinating
and actually just really entertaining
from a filmmaking perspective too.
Reminds me a lot of the movie La Jetee.
You can check it out, we'll have a link
in the description below.
Let us know in the comments what you think.
We'll be around to answer any questions.