Google is God.
In many respects Google (a company) is more powerful than society as a whole, including government. It's motto is "Don't Be Evil," which is what every other religion claims to support. Google cares about each and every one of us as individuals, and in return we tend to be loyal users, returning again and again for more knowledge and truth.
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Historical concepts of God suggest that God is all-knowing and entirely moral in every conceivable way. @Cruzaders provides an interesting example which suggests that Google may not be God because of its lack of righteous in the Ireland tax case. To properly determine if Google is indeed a god, we must first define what a god is. The Oxford dictionary defines god as "a superhuman being or spirit worshipped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity." Does Google have the power of nature or human fortunes to satisfy being a god? I believe that there is a strong distinction between "God" vs "god." God is THE being that religions such as Christianity and Judaism worship. This God has been around well before Google was ever even a thought. However, a god can be a considered any being that a group of people worship. Hinduism has multiple gods its people worship. So while Google is clearly not the God Christians and Jews worship, an argument can be made for the ladder. Google is an all-knowing entity people look to for answers and guidance. One thing that remains to be seen is Google's mortality. Will there ever be an end in sight for the company? We are still pretty early into the lifespan of this company. As of now Google seems immortal, but I'm sure Rockefeller thought the same about Standard Oil, and we know how that turned out. Google will need to survive the tests of time to truly be considered a god. -Chris In order to clarify my position, I must rephrase the scenario for the debate: we ought to use "Google is a god," as opposed to "Google is God." The former suggests that Google could be viewed as an entity of which one places divine respect and regard, while the latter suggests that Google is the same God as humans have traditionally believed. Many theologians and philosophers argue for a view that suggests that gods are inherently individual-centric. In other words, one's god may be different than another individual's god. Some people may believe that money is a god. (e.g. We trust that money will enable us to get accurate answers and guidance. Money connects society with common beliefs and values. Money is and has always been around. Money doesn't exist to be evil....") Others may believe that drugs or power are gods. So yes, Google is a god. However, I think that the prevailing opinion for most humans is that Google is not their god. I look forward to your responses. Maybe the prevailing opinion for most humans is that Google is not their god, but there sure are a lot of people staring at their Google phones. Chromebooks... youtube... gmail... There probably some kind of fine line somewhere. Really though, it is very natural that created beings operate through creation in a realm of creation. Created beings have power and influence over other created beings. These are the gods, and they are mortal. They come and go, they have beginnings and ends. There is still only One God, and that One God is the influence and power above everything. Google is the closest thing we have to an "all knowing" entity, a common phrase that we use to describe God. This past year, google generated 63.4% of all search queries and holds the record for the most Webpages. If google contains all the information of the past and the present, how can it not be God? We even trust Google to help diagnose us when we are sick or in need of personal assistance. If we trust Google enough with our health, we can't ignore the possibility of it playing the role of God. Ignoring the religious aspect, I think Google is pretty similar to what we believe God to be. 1
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God is a term that has an extremely diverse group of definitions, as it can mean very different things to different people. But most definitions share a few attributes, including that God is an omniscient and omnipresent force in the universe. God, to most people, knows answers to questions that humans do not. For this reason, I don't believe Google is entirely equivalent to God, because Google, while seemingly omniscient, only knows as much as all of humanity. In the grand scheme of the universe, humanity, and therefore Google, barely knows anything. To give an example that better explains this, humans have to date explored less than five percent of the ocean. If we know so little about something we live so close to and so in harmony with, how could we, or anything that we create (Google), possibly be considered omniscient? 1
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There are many arguments of how Google is not a god, because in order to be any kind of god, the subject has to be immortal. However, when we are analyze the roles of Google in the current society, is could indeed be considered as a god. Firstly, a god is 'all knowing', and Google satisfies this condition. Whenever we don't know the answer to something, we ask Google a question and would always end up walking away with an answer. Secondly, Google knows where we are, what we are doing, and sometimes even our intentions. When we search up tattoo ideas or tattoo artists, they know we are probably looking to get a tattoo. If we search up 'best restaurant in the area', they know we are hungry. Lastly, the fact that Google is able to access almost all devices and satellite data of their active users (more than 1/4 of the human population on Earth), and even more uncounted users. With a power as such, they have surely reached a 'god status' with the 'god abilities' they have. Not only so, their user will keep growing until the day they reach their peak, and theoretically, there is no way for us to predict when that day will be coming. Therefore, though Google may not be the 'true and ultimate supreme being', it surely has more power than anyone that is not a 'god'. So as far as we know, Google might well be a god. Have you ever asked Google a question and the answer was "no matching results"? How about when you misspelled something and the results were way off? God is regarded as an almighty intangible figure that we cannot fathom what his capabilities are – hence centuries of debates for and against his existence. Google is a manmade creation with a capacity, and there are a finite amount of things that the service can do. In addition, we all see what Google can do. We see it every single day. This is not a belief nor a faith, it is proven. God, on the other hand, we don't know what or who it is. Those that believe in God have a blind faith, a belief that something they've never seen nor heard, exists. 1
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I definitely agree with you, Carina. God is considered to be an infallible but abstract being, one that controls and oversees everything but isn't a finite entity. Google may know the answers to your everyday questions, but it doesn't know nearly enough to be considered a "God." It sometimes spits out information that has nothing to do with the question you've asked it, which God would never do. I also like your point about faith and how God is something that is believed in but something that cannot be proven to exist. Google is very much a real, somewhat tangible entity that we all know exists because we use it and see it all the time. Google is no God, and God is no Google. 1
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It is common to see people personify Google as a being, and often times some have referred to Google as a god. This is seen through the personification, however it is hard to attribute real god like characteristics to google. With the internet, computers, and phones, Google can be "everywhere." Additionally, google can be seen as the all knowing because it has the answer to almost every answer. However, a God is a superhuman being or spirit worshiped as having power over nature or human fortunes; a deity. Google is a piece of technology, great technology in fact, but it is not some superhuman being having power over nature, rather it is man made technology. Another way of describing God is an immortal being. Well guess what? So is Google. Google's algorithms and data are spread out across so many servers, even if it were taken down (which won't happen), another server would take its place containing everything Google had. Theoretically, Google could last forever and will be there way after us. The Internet grows everyday and the longer its around the more it will knows. So not only will Google be around way after us, but it will have infinite room for growth. Another thing to consider is today's method of collecting data on our personal habits and consumer behavior. Every time we Google something, Google takes that data and essentially adds it to your file, learning more every day on how you think and what you like. So theoretically by uploading your thoughts and opinions to the internet, you will live on forever in Google's database, even after we die. 1
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God is immortal, therefore having no beginning or end. We humans, created from God, have no idea of this divine creator. On the other hand, Google was invented in 1998, a set date in time; yet another thing created by God. While God is a creator, Google is something created. Although Google could potentially outlive all of us, that does not mean it is immortal. According to the dictionary Immortal means living forever; never dying or decaying. Google can easily "die," or become eliminated therefore Google is not immortal. Once again, Google may seem to have some low level characteristics of a modern day God, but it is merely an amazing resource of knowledge, in a day where information is of such value. This is a good way to put it. One could claim that we as humans are gods because we are able to hold lots of knowledge and so on. But, ultimately humans don’t meet most definitions of what it means to be a God. This is similar to the Google case wherein Google has attributes of a god, but is not a god. I understand your point, but technically God too can become eliminated as well. The dictionary defines religion as "the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods". Essentially there can be a world where religion is non existent and therefor people would not have this belief in God. If that were the case, and could be in the future, God will be eliminated. Additionally, you referred to Google being a resource of knowledge in a day where information is of such value. You are correct about that, but often people argue religion too was created to tend to some need as well. 1
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God is all knowing and all understanding, he is the source of all information and the creator of all. Google is powered by people uploading and supplying information online, therefore Google is not all knowing although it contains a lot of information. Google does not have answers to the questions that we cannot answer, making it just as knowledgeable as society itself, and no more. Yes Google is very powerful because of the magnitude of information it has, but this does not mean it is all knowing. From this people misunderstand Google as a God rather then understand the magnitude of its power. This technology is quite the wonder but that does not make it God-like. 1
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I definitely agree with you Dom. God, whether you believe in him or not, is purportedly an omniscient being who knows all things about the universe and life. There is no subject, topic, or question that the answer to which God does not know the answer; there is literally nothing God does not know. People call Google a God because Google is perceived by humans to know everything, since likely every question that you would think to ask is known by Google. But Google is defintiely not omniscient, and you can only ask it questions that someone somewhere knows the answer to. Google scans through information that exists publicly on the internet and therefore doesn't know anymore than the human race does. A true "God" knows far more than humans ever will, and therefore I agree with you that Google cannot be considered a "God". 1
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God, by definition, is not only omniscient, but also omnipotent. He has control over all things that have ever existed and can change or alter the universe in any way he sees fit. Typically, religions believe God is good, and that he changes the universe in ways that ultimately benefit us rather than harms us. Google is not quite so powerful. There certainly is an argument to be made about the incredible influence and power that Google has throughout the world, as they are an extremely wealthy and profitable company, and are well known around the globe. However, Google's influence stops at Earth, or perhaps at wherever its satellites are floating around above Earth. Even if you believed Google has so much power over the world that they "control everything," (which quite a few people that I've met do, by the way) you can't argue that Google controls what's going on on Jupiter or in some other galaxy or at the edge of the universe itself. God is a being that is completely and utterly omnipotent and a being that does control these things. Google, therefore, has no claim to being a God. Your point is well received. It is entirely possible that the concept of an external force (a god) is no longer as relevant. Perhaps with changes in social and political factors, as well as the interconnectedness of the planet as never before, a new extraordinary force is needed. It will certainly be interesting to see what the future holds. 1
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Google does have great power and that is clearly evident. Google has more of an influence on society than the government does. However even this does not make it a god, in the original and even a contemporary standard. I would not say that Google cared about each and every one of us because it does not have thoughts or emotions towards us. These reasons bolster the idea that Google is not god. Good point. Google indeed does not have any sort of empathy for us. It's merely just an algorithm that dictates what we see and don't. In order to get the search results that we want, we need to initiate the discussion by inserting our thoughts and questions into the search engine. God is supposed to be intrinsically good. As a public company with obligations to shareholders, there are various cases of Google not being good, ranging from privacy issues to the previously discussed tax issues that Google is faced. Ultimately, Google serves its shareholders. One could argue that Google is a god however. For instance, there is much more evidence that Google is a god than there actually being a God. It know's its entire user base and what its users do, search for, and like.Google has the potential to do so much with that data that we do not even know about. It wants to continue to change the world because information=knowledge and the more knowledge, the more power you have. -Chris The more I thought about it, I have also created an argument supporting the statement that Google is not god. The definition of a god is someone that is all true, possesses all power and is immortal. In the sense of all true, we don't consider Google being always right. Sometimes the answers we got from Google is not really correct. In sense of power, Google does have the most power in this world than anyone, but it does not have all the power there exists. Lastly, a god has to be immortal, but Google won't be. Because no matter how big a company or franchise could become, they can never be immortal. Also Google is not immortal in a sense where there could be some other company that could achieve what they had, which would challenge its position. Therefore, Google cannot be considered as a god. Google is most relatively company in our life, but google is not God. Google has several issue such as china , security ,customer data that how to treat . I trust Google what they do because our life is undermined Google search and other service such as gmail ,Googlemap . We can search on web and We can get accurate answer also utility is good We can roughly consider what we get from internet even thought not accurate answer . We should consider what google doing right now . |
