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At Google X, a Top-Secret Lab Dreaming Up the Future

nytimes.com

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Re: At Google X, a Top-Secret Lab Dreaming Up the Future

#81

Post by Jd »

marshallp wrote: post #63
nosequel wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously, what are you talking about? What investors? You have proven you don't know what you are talking about in this thread, but I am curious what you think is true? Who are the heads of the NSA meeting with who would be considered investors? The NSA meets with the Armed Services board and the Senate intelligence board, and that's about it. I get it, you think the government is b.s., but groups like the NSA don't…

No need to get rude, I'm not some teenage troll guy, I'm here for intelligent discussion. I don't seen where I've "proven" myself wrong. This thread is not about investment into nsa, but commercialization of nsa (or other military/government org) technology. My point was that regardless of nsa'a official stance of secrecy, tech gets "leaked" out into the commercial sphere. You can't stop a good thing from spreading,…

Are nuclear bombs good? Do the heads of our national security agencies take technologies that could potentially kill the whole world's population and, because they, like every other executive in the world, are an MBA-types, sell it to whoever they happen to meet at a cocktail party? You may not be a teenager, but I can't say that you aren't a troll.

Re: At Google X, a Top-Secret Lab Dreaming Up the Future

#82

Post by skore »

treetrouble wrote: post #77

It’s a place where your refrigerator could be connected to the Internet, so it could order groceries when they ran low. Your dinner plate could post to a social network what you’re eating. The stuff that could have been invented 5-10 years ago but was not interesting enough to warrant the effort

While I might enjoy the convenience, the way I stock my fridge just isn't a constant datapoint. If there are no eggs in my fridge, it might be because I don't want any eggs for a while, not because I didn't think of buying any.

To solve this, you'd need human interaction etc. etc. and you soon arrive at a point where you just stock the frigging thing yourself anyhow. For a one-household effort, this really doesn't warrant the effort.

A different story could be approaching it as some sort of communal effort, say the combined amount of fridges in one multi-story house or student dorm. If you could plan your meals /assisted/ by your fridge and it could tell you that the guy next door has eggs that are free, you wouldn't need to buy a whole carton just because you want to bake a cake, thus possibly reducing waste.

In the end, this puts us back to the old privacy implications versus efficiency problem that remains largely unsolved.

Re: At Google X, a Top-Secret Lab Dreaming Up the Future

#83

Post by Natsu »

treetrouble wrote: post #77

It’s a place where your refrigerator could be connected to the Internet, so it could order groceries when they ran low. Your dinner plate could post to a social network what you’re eating. The stuff that could have been invented 5-10 years ago but was not interesting enough to warrant the effort

I'd prefer ones that warn you when they get too warm via text message. Might not do anything if the power went out, but if the door was slightly ajar, it'd be a lot better to get an alert than to have all your ice cream melt and your meat thaw.

Oh, and they should start putting windows in the doors so that people don't stand there with the door open, thinking about what to eat.

I'm pretty sure all of that is trivial for a good engineer to wire up these days. Though if we ever had a 'smart' enough fridge, I could also see people integrating things with the various social dieting apps or whatever.

Re: At Google X, a Top-Secret Lab Dreaming Up the Future

#84

Post by Roboprog »

munin wrote: post #53
Juha wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Google is perfect company to make those future products that have been 5 years away for the last 15 years. Intelligent fridge probably comes to mind first, but there are a lot. Some of those ideas just need clever people to work on it (check), resources for research (check) and ability to produce it in scalable way (check). Maybe we'll finally see an affordable house robot that helps more than disturbs.

have you considered that we don't have an internet fridge because not enough people want it?

Not unless it could order food for the dog, too, while it was at it. Oh, that didn't work out?

Re: At Google X, a Top-Secret Lab Dreaming Up the Future

#85

Post by Roboprog »

Juha wrote: post #26
waterlesscloud wrote: post #2

"It’s a place where your refrigerator could be connected to the Internet, so it could order groceries when they ran low. Your dinner plate could post to a social network what you’re eating. [...] These are just a few of the dreams being chased at Google X, the clandestine lab where Google is tackling a list of 100 shoot-for-the-stars ideas. " Those are shoot-for-the-stars ideas? I hope those are at the lowest end of…

I think Google is perfect company to make those future products that have been 5 years away for the last 15 years. Intelligent fridge probably comes to mind first, but there are a lot. Some of those ideas just need clever people to work on it (check), resources for research (check) and ability to produce it in scalable way (check). Maybe we'll finally see an affordable house robot that helps more than disturbs.

My wife would like something that cleans up after the kids (safely, etc). I would like something that turns things off when people leave, but I suppose smart switches would do the job cheaper than a robot. Not as cool, though, especially if it were like an inexpensive little "monkey bot" about 3 feet tall :-)

Re: At Google X, a Top-Secret Lab Dreaming Up the Future

#86

Post by rmrm »

marshallp wrote: post #9
waterlesscloud wrote: post #2

"It’s a place where your refrigerator could be connected to the Internet, so it could order groceries when they ran low. Your dinner plate could post to a social network what you’re eating. [...] These are just a few of the dreams being chased at Google X, the clandestine lab where Google is tackling a list of 100 shoot-for-the-stars ideas. " Those are shoot-for-the-stars ideas? I hope those are at the lowest end of…

Intelligent refrigerators based on computer vision (and not rfid) is actually a shoot for the stars kind of idea. It would also revolutionize retailers, distributors, and manufacturers.

I agree, I think we underestimate how awesome these technologies could be if brought together into a coherent service.

I would like my kitchen to tell me what I can cook based on what's on hand, and then give me the recipe for it. And say if I decide on a menu for the next week have it auto order what I need from amazon and give me a list of what else I need to buy, and where its on sale. Sign me up.

Re: At Google X, a Top-Secret Lab Dreaming Up the Future

#87

Post by superkarn »

hugh3 wrote: post #78
treetrouble wrote: post #77

It’s a place where your refrigerator could be connected to the Internet, so it could order groceries when they ran low. Your dinner plate could post to a social network what you’re eating. The stuff that could have been invented 5-10 years ago but was not interesting enough to warrant the effort

I've been hearing about fridges-that-order-groceries for at least ten years. It's one of those dumb ideas that just keeps coming up, despite the fact that there's no demand for it. Basically, I don't trust my fridge with my credit card... and besides, I don't want to order groceries by delivery anyway, particularly not the kind of perishable goods that I'd be keeping in my refrigerator. I suppose I wouldn't mind havi…

What about commercial fridges like restaurants? Or work place refrigerators? I can see the set-it-and-forget-it feature working well in these scenarios.

Re: At Google X, a Top-Secret Lab Dreaming Up the Future

#88

Post by Roboprog »

jacques_chester wrote: post #21

The spaghetti cannon continues to boom.

Too bad I can't watch the spaghetti cannon at work during lunch. I know it's silly, but silly is fun.

Stuff like YouTube (as well as Netflix) is helping to kill broadcast TV (alright, reality TV and other low value cruft is also helping to kill broadcast, as well as fixed show schedules). Long term, internet video is more democratic, as well as flexible and fun. Perhaps stuff like YouTube will have more effect on society that internet-fridges and AI cars?

Re: At Google X, a Top-Secret Lab Dreaming Up the Future

#89

Post by cpeterso »

neilk wrote: post #27

Here's a collection of quotes from the triumvirate about artificial intelligence. http://ignoranceisfutile.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/google-fou... (Except, ignore the Moffett field thing. That has nothing to do with AI research as far as I know.) Anyway, any Googler will confirm that Sergey Brin, in particular, keeps returning to this idea: that Google's ultimate destiny is to realize Strong AI. I'm not saying they've…

I've often wondered whether an AI system like OpenCyc could derive its knowledge base from web content, rather than relying on rules and assertions written by the AI's human caretakers. If anyone could do that, it would be Google.

Re: At Google X, a Top-Secret Lab Dreaming Up the Future

#90

Post by civilian »

jopt wrote: post #30

Maybe it's somehow an important proof-of-concept AI challenge, but restocking my fridge does not make the list of things I desperately need better technology for. The driverless cars are old news and space elevators are a niche at best. Whatever makes Google X interesting must truly be top secret.

internet search is just a niche.
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