Monsters and Google

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    Look, i am all for playing our part to make this world a utopia. Why not? We live in it - our children will live in it (unless Mr. Musk decides to give them a ride to Mars). This is all we have. The question then presents itself: At what cost? Should we strive to make this world a place where every individual is happy, satisfied, and fulfilled, we would have to take that into consideration while making even the smallest of decisions that would seemingly have no effect to the general population. 

Drinking Energy Drinks = impeding successful cancer research?

Let's say i have a brother and a sister who are solely my responsibility. I am currently completing my masters. A company offered me a job on the condition of me successfully completing my masters and if i get that job, i can provide a decent living for me and my siblings. But for now, i still have to provide my siblings with food and shelter so i take on 5 part time jobs. All of it is getting extremely stressful and i feel tired every morning. I know that keeping this work ethic up without supplements could result in a burnout and a net negative outcome for everyone. I decide to invest in cases of Monster Energy. I calculate that drinking 5 cans everyday before each job can help me function better. Should i drink 5 cans of Monster Energy every day despite knowing my immediate bloodline is very prone to diabetes? After all, it doesn't seem like the general population would be very much affected as a result of me having diabetes (except maybe health resources allocated to me but let's say i have some medical expertise and can take care of myself). Where it gets tricky is the unseen, the unknown, the unborn. What if i have a child 10 years from now who grows up to be a Computer Scientist (successful south-asian parenting 101?). What if this child makes incredible strides in AI and prediction algorithms and in turn, helps find a stable cure for most cancer cells. Now take into consideration the diabetes i sprung onto not just myself but also my unborn child. According to Eastern Virginia Medical School, a baby has a greater risk if their father has Type 1 diabetes. This risk can be fatal in most cases because of the high blood sugar levels in an infant which decreases oxygen in blood and could result in death. 



Phew

So have i effectively doomed the world and robbed it from a cure of Cancer by drinking gallons of an energy drink everyday or have i successfully secured a future for me and my siblings. What if my siblings thrive in the environment i provide as a result of my job and what if my siblings later become great philosophers helping develop an intellectual world. 

The What-Ifs and the unknown future

As we have clearly seen from the example above, there is no way to make a decision that results in the net good of the entire mankind. Also, sometimes we can not predict wether the good result we're looking to achieve outweighs all other results (my child curing cancer vs my siblings helping the growth of an intellectual world). 

Let's talk Google

Okay - i have made my point. Nothing is known and everything depends on it. That is a rough assessment. Let's break it down for Google. Can Google be put on the moral pedestal? Can we look up to Google to make all the right decisions for everyone at all times. What are Google's virtues? Does Google have an obligation to conform to these virtues? Can Google alter or modify these virtues as they please? The short answer is: Under the realm of law, Google can do everything they damn well please. Clearly mentioning in their terms of use that they will be interfering with search results and then doing it puts them under the safe legal umbrella that could weather the moral storm from the public. 

It's obvious that Google is a trend-setter. Google can change perspectives and decisions simply based on what it chooses to show. If we depend on Google to show us accurate unfiltered results, that could protect the integrity of the company and increase our trust in it. But for this to happen, the public users of Google have to come to a consensus that they trust Google's unfiltered search algorithm regardless of how much emotional harm it could do to them. 

On the other hand, if Google does interfere with the search results, it could provide a safe haven for all communities and cultures to use Google without fearing for a possible trigger. It would however dampen the integrity of Google. 



The conclusion

Google should not interfere with the search results AT ALL with the exception of an influx of false or targeted searches by groups with malicious intents. Google already does that with its review system as evident from the recent GameStop and RobinHood frenzy. Google removed hundreds of thousands of 1-star RobinHood reviews based on the information that these reviews were not from actual users of the application since the number of these reviews far outweigh the number of registered on RobinHood. Bottom line: Google should stick to the sidelines for the most part. 


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