July 19, 2010, 12:26 PM — Top men at Google are working on a breathtaking new approach to Web search. Top. Men. One of these is Amit Singhal, who recently characterized the future of search as "searching without searching." The idea is that Google will have so much data on you that it will know what you want before you do.
Specifically, Google search would know about your preferences, hobbies, favorite activities and more. It would know all the events in your life, such as the birthdays and anniversaries of family and friends. It would also scan the Internet for relevant events, as well as social networks for trending topics and breaking news.
When someone's birthday is coming, it would suggest a gift based not only on what Google knows about that person, but also what it knows about product availability and ship times to make sure the recipient gets the goods on time.
And Search would make decisions based on its constant review of all your stuff. For example, if there's slow traffic on the way to a meeting on your calendar, it might alert you to leave early.
Like some kind of sci-fi artificial intelligence robot, Google search of the future will suggest things to you out of the blue, presenting you with search results for things you never searched for -- "searching without searching."
Well? Cool or creepy? Or both?
If you're not sure you want this, don't worry. Google already knows that you do. See? It's already working!
More.
