Terminator Nemesis Looks Familiar: It's Google

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted May 22, 2009 2:10 PM CDT
Terminator Nemesis Looks Familiar: It's Google
A woman talks on her cell phone while using a laptop at a ceremony to launch Google's free music download service for China in Beijing, March 30, 2009.   (AP Photo)

Could Google be SkyNet from the Terminator movies? Chris Dannen sees a resemblance, he writes for Fast Company. Heck, Google might be worse; SkyNet didn’t take over until 2029, but Google managed it by 2009. “Sure, one uses a giant Web crawler to index pages,” Dannen allows, “and the other uses a giant arsenal of automated nuclear super-weapons to extinguish the human race.” Minor quibbles aside, here’s how they stack up:  

  • Started in: Google: 1998, by cybergeek students; Skynet: 1997, by Cyberdyne Systems.
  • Initial Costs: Google: $1.1 million; SkyNet: 3 billion human lives.
  • Scaled up by…: Google: Selling ads; SkyNet: Gaining sentience.
  • Partners: Google: NASA/Ames, Sun Microsystems, AOL/Time Warner; SkyNet: Army of cyborgs.
  • Potential Downfall: Google: Antitrust laws; SkyNet: Governor of California
  • Loves Having: Google: YouTube; SkyNet: You to burn.
  • Secret Shame: Google: Name a misspelling of “googol”; SkyNet: Saw Spielberg’s AI, cried.
(More Terminator Salvation stories.)

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