Search engines have evolved so much from the days when directories were your go to when you wanted to find information on the web and they are still evolving. Google has been granted a patent for a new search feature that some people will definitely find creepy. The patent is for a feature that will present you with search results that are based upon what you are currently watching on TV. How can they do this? By using your smartphone to listen to what is going on around you, in this case to listen to what you are watching on TV.
The idea has a simple concept behind it, you are watching The X Factor on Saturday night and you decide that you would like to find out more about one of the contestants. You type a search query into Google on your smartphone or tablet and the results that you receive are influenced by The X Factor. So for example you might see a profile page for the contestant on the X Factor’s website ranking more highly than it otherwise would do.
In principle this is a great idea, where it starts to become a problem is the idea that your smartphone or tablet is always listening to what is going on in your life and that information about you may be being stored. I will generally embrace most new technologies but with this idea I do feel slightly uneasy. It’s not that I’m bothered about Google knowing what I watch on TV but the fact that everywhere I go I am being monitored. With this in mind I decided to try to imagine a best and worst case scenario for where this sort of technology may eventually lead.
My worst case scenario would involve remarketing based upon what a smartphone has overheard. Remarketing is where you visit a website once and then see ads for the same website when you visit other sites, such as the printer ink cartridges I am currently being bombarded with online. Now imagine a scenario where a person has an argument with their partner and then when they use the web they see adverts for relationship counselling services. This ties in to statements that Google founder, Larry Page, made earlier this year “If you look at things like Google Now also– well, maybe you don’t want to ask a question. Maybe you want to just have it answered for you before you ask it.“
Now here is a better idea for how this technology can be used. Imagine the case of an elderly person who lives on their own and falls and breaks a leg. They are unable to get to the phone but could say a trigger phrase that prompts the phone to make a call to the emergency services that could state that there was a medical emergency, the name of the patient and their current location. If this sort of thing sounds far-fetched then bear in mind that the EU are currently trying to devise a system that would mean that by 2015 motor vehicles that are involved in serious accidents would have the ability to contact the emergency services automatically, even if the driver is unconscious.
It really comes down to trust in the data that you are sharing. By this point in the evolution of the web I think we are all getting comfortable with the fact that there is no such thing as online privacy and that this knowledge is influencing the way we behave online. However, the knowledge that you are giving up your privacy completely may be a step too far if all you receive in return is more relevant search engine results.