Shaddows - 11:24 am on Sep 9, 2009 (gmt 0)

Best 1000 results is not the same as the best single result. For most queries, even 10 results would be fine, and would (for me, anyway) relieve the worst worries.

But for an algo to effectively decide there IS one single answer to a non-trivial query is absurd.

But yes, its the privacy thing that seals the deal for me.

I find Google pervasive today, and dread to think how they might expand. You know loyalty cards? Imagine Google running one of those, or being a substantive partner in a scheme such as Nectar (UK cross-shop loyalty scheme). Imagine the data. Especially if married with a credit card (such as Tesco is now doing).

Then there will be netbooks with embedded 3G, running GoogleOS. Even without GPS, triangulation of cells would be possible.

A world where someone could approximate a tailored "correct" answer based my unintentionally revealed habits is scarey.

One other question, who owns this theoretical data collected about my habits? Me, or the collector. I know its me, as long as I GIVE the data. But id the data is inferred indirectly, would Google own it?