Google and Information Transparency

A few days ago, Jonathan Rosenberg posted an article on Google's official blog that is worth reading. He speculates on the future of the Internet and Google and identifies several important trends. I found two of his points especially interesting, because their implications for building a better world are seismic.

"All the world's information will be accessible from the palm of every person." I never thought of it this way before, but it's true. The simultaneous digitization of information and global proliferation of cell phones means that every person in the world could soon have a portal into almost all the world's information. That is a dizzying thought. As information becomes more available, average citizens win. Governments become more transparent. Markets become more efficient. Good ideas get sifted from the bad. People gain freedom to network and cooperate. We take these benefits for granted in the US, but I am excited to see what effects they will bring to the developing world. And the revolution still has a long way to go. Google has the ambitious goal of digitizing all the world's information. With its Kindle device, Amazon.com is striving to make every book in the world available in under 60 seconds. It is amazing we live in a time when such ambitious goals actually seem attainable.

"When data is abundant, intelligence will win." Rosenberg observes that information transparency puts more facts into the hands of average people, leading to better decisions and more civil discourse. Transparency of information allows citizens to hold their politicians accountable and distinguish truth from falsehood. It also empowers consumers. It's hard to imagine I ever lived in a time before Amazon.com customer reviews. How did I ever make informed decisions about new purchases prior to that? When information flows freely, society collectively becomes smarter.

To be sure, this torrent of information brings challenges as well. We face vital questions of how to mine useful ideas from the deluge of garbage, how to verify sources, how to protect intellectual property rights, and how to manage the mob-like volatility of a wired community. But on the whole, information transparency brings more benefits than costs. I am eager to see the bewildering future that lies in store.