Google, China, Orwell 2.0
I'm quite impressed by the quality of panelists and even more impressed by the questions posed and the depth of conversations Wired 25 summit has churned out.
As a loyal Google user and as Sundar Pichai might have put it, his fellow home-townie, I was looking forward to his discussion with Steven Levy. But Pichai's response to the question of Project Dragonfly in particular, has been disappointing to say the least.
To be clear, the issue is not that Google wants to do business in China. Business should able to do business wherever they like. But it is not ok when you know there is a real possibility that real harm can be done through your agency. The most emphasized word throughout the interview was 'deliberate' incidentally. So out go the 'naive optimism' or 'insanity' plea.
It appears as though the 'broad benefits' of earning, learning from China outweigh the cost of endangering a few lives, upsetting their employees and closer scrutiny by Government. It is interesting that Pichai said what they are doing is quite similar to new tech like CRISPR that have life-changing potential but are dangerous at the same.
On a related note, the way Google is making decisions is symptomatic of a larger problem at the roots of the tech industry. But more on that another time.
For my detailed analysis of why Google is risking it all for Dragonfly and why their rationale is flawed, check the full story on PacktHub.