The Technocore

Last week, a good friend of mine began a discussion on his Facebook page about how the human drive toward god-like omniscience and omnipresence is manifesting in the shape of technologies such as Google. The thread jokingly referred to the megalithic search engine and enterprising empire as “The Godgle.”

Over a year ago, I coined the term Godgle to many friends as a sort of humorous jab at the nebulous portal through which all information seems to flow. I am quite positive I was not the first to graft God to Google, nor was I first to have an inkling that the mega-company had indeed birthed something completely alien and, in some regards, deific.

I make no secret of the fact that I am a science fiction nerd and avid futurist. I fell in love with Ray Bradbury’s work as a child and spent the last thirty years consuming everything from Frank Herbet to Stanislaw Lem like an obese child eats cake with a glint of greed in his eyes. The transcendent computer demiurges hinted at in the works of Dan Simmons and Vernor Vinge, now seem more like prophetic utterances of the coming of Google than fantastic universes of speculative fiction; and with this month’s passing of California Senate Bill 1298, the Godgle takes one more step toward immortality by introducing “autonomous” vehicles completely at the mercy of algorithims, sensors, and computers.  

For the sake of imagination and argument, let’s suppose that author and futurist Ray Kurzweil’s vision of the future indeed comes to pass and a “singularity” will erupt at the point where exponential acceleration of information and technology tumble over each other to birth a super-intelligence. Godgle has the human resources necessary to burn midnight oil on the task: money, masterminds, and manipulators. It has the established framework: a global network of servers, users, and programmers. Last but not least, it has the undying attention of a global population thirsty for information based on an ever-expanding toolset, foresight, and opportunism.

Based on the available data and information at present, I hereby elect Godgle as most likely candidate for ascension to super-intelligence. Cast your vote!