What if Google became evil?

Yes, Microsoft may have used PR to strike fear into business reporters' hearts about Google, but no one describes that fear better than Cory Doctorow. The editor at popular Boing Boing has written a short story describing a future where Google knows too much -- and where a Big Brother government uses Google to monitor citizens a little too closely.

The interrogator in the secondary screening room was an older man, so skinny he looked like he'd been carved out of wood. His questions went a lot deeper than shrooms.

"Tell me about your hobbies. Are you into model rocketry?"

"What?"

"Model rocketry."

"No," Greg said, "No, I'm not." He sensed where this was going.

The man made a note, did some clicking. "You see, I ask because I see a heavy spike in ads for rocketry supplies showing up alongside your search results and Google mail."

Greg felt a spasm in his guts. "You're looking at my searches and e-mail?" He hadn't touched a keyboard in a month, but he knew what he put into that search bar was likely more revealing than what he told his shrink.

Google, founded by two cherubic kids whose motto is "don't be evil," faces scrutiny as it finalizes a bid to acquire the banner ad giant DoubleClick. Google collects reams of information about users to offer personalized ads, and if its advertising network grows, it will know more and more about your email messaging, web browsing, shopping habits, videos, online social profiles, and your network of friends and colleagues -- more than might be healthy, critics say.

Doctorow notes his story "Scroogled" is not a slam, just a scenario. He says:

I think most of the things that Google does are good. I think one of the most heartbreaking things that any of us can live through is for an institution that we love to change in a way that makes us hate it. So it seemed to me that this would be a great opportunity to write something of dramatic note, something that would work as a story.

We love Google because its network provides value, and that comes from the ocean of linked information and users within it -- right, Metcalfe? Consumers find anything in 0.0003 seconds only because of Google's vast knowledge. But as the internet morphs offline and becomes part of everything -- first your cell phone, then your wallet, your car keys, light bulbs and your dog's collar -- and as Google continues to index that knowledge, the world wonders if there are brakes on this train. Is one knowledge, under Google, too much?