There are so many various search engines, that sometimes I
find myself asking what’s the point.
In the modern world of today, if we don’t know something the only way we
can think to ask is to take it to the internet.
Or otherwords…let’s Google it.
Now I’m not saying that I find Google or any other search
engine bad. I mean it was bound to
happen sooner or later and it is interesting when you look and study the
pagerank algorithm, that ranks certain pages for you. However let’s face it…what is really at stake here is what’s
known as congnitive capitalism.
Congnitive capitalism is characterized by digital technologies that are
combined with high levels of cognitive and cultural labor. At the heart of Google’s PageRank,
Matteo Pasquinelli states that “there are
three main arguments in relation to the ‘Google economy’ by focusing
respectively: value production, value accumulation and value re-appropriation.” First off through the use of a
machine, we are able to transform simple smarts into “network value.” Pasquinelli states that this model of
cognitive hegemony is based on exploitation of a mediascape for the collective
intelligence that is free and open.
Finally he claims that a response can only be organized by reversing the
chain of production.
Due to the PageRank, Google has become unstoppable. It’s very interesting to note that
Pasquinelli states in his conclusion that “the battle against the accumulation
of data operated by PageRank reminds the social struggles against the
traditional forms of monopoly and accumulation of capitals.”
Google started out a small inkblot and it is now slowly
becoming an impossible stain to remove, a parasite that continues to thrive and
live. However there are things
that Google is partaking in that restore faith in humanity.
When I think of life like limbs I can’t help but think of
that scene in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, when Luke Skywalker receives
a new robotic hand in place of the one that he lost. The way it was made, you couldn’t even see that it was
really a piece of machine. It gave
off the impression being real.
With how technology is advancing, it’s plain to see how that
can become a reality. I recently
found an article that expresses how Google is doing exactly that…with what is
called the Impact Challenge.
Google has partnered with multiple start up’s and non-profit
organizations to research, build and help people with disabilities make their
lives better. World-Wide Hearing,
E-Nable, RNIB, Liftware and Mission Arm EXIII to just name a few.
What these scientists and innovators are doing is work that
will in the long run, will remain engrained in the hearts and minds of all the
people that will be reached.
Ciao!
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