Romans 1:22
"Titled The Selfish Ledger, the 9-minute film starts off with a history of Lamarckian epigenetics, which are broadly concerned with the passing on of traits acquired during an organism’s lifetime. Narrating the video, Foster acknowledges that the theory may have been discredited when it comes to genetics but says it provides a useful metaphor for user data. (The title is an homage to Richard Dawkins’ 1976 book The Selfish Gene.)
Google's business thrives in large part thanks to the data its billions of users provide. This data informs the way we experience Google's products and services, but what if it was more than that?
"Titled The Selfish Ledger, the 9-minute film starts off with a history of Lamarckian epigenetics, which are broadly concerned with the passing on of traits acquired during an organism’s lifetime. Narrating the video, Foster acknowledges that the theory may have been discredited when it comes to genetics but says it provides a useful metaphor for user data. (The title is an homage to Richard Dawkins’ 1976 book The Selfish Gene.)
Google's business thrives in large part thanks to the data its billions of users provide. This data informs the way we experience Google's products and services, but what if it was more than that?
A leaked internal video created by X (formerly Google X) called "The Selfish Ledger" explores a world in which the sum of our data can be used to modify behavior..... head of design Nick Foster created the 9-minute video in 2016, and it was never supposed to leave the company. However, someone provided a copy (Opens in a new window) to The Verge. Foster’s vision of the ledger goes beyond a tool for self-improvement. The system would be able to “plug gaps in its knowledge and refine its model of human behavior” — not just your particular behavior or mine, but that of the entire human species.
When Google talks about the Selfish Ledger, it asks us to think of ourselves as the temporary custodian of the data rather than the owner. It's a callback to The Selfish Gene, a book by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins that explains evolution as what's good for a gene, not necessarily what's good for the individual. So, the Selfish Ledger is out for itself."
When Google talks about the Selfish Ledger, it asks us to think of ourselves as the temporary custodian of the data rather than the owner. It's a callback to The Selfish Gene, a book by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins that explains evolution as what's good for a gene, not necessarily what's good for the individual. So, the Selfish Ledger is out for itself."
ExtremeTech/Verge
