Google

Google is a multinational technology company specializing in Internet-related services and products, including search engines, cloud computing, software, and hardware. As one of the world’s most influential technology firms, Google has been at the forefront of artificial intelligence research and development, particularly in natural language processing and conversational AI.

AI Research and Development

Google has established itself as a leader in artificial intelligence through:

• Google Brain research team (founded 2011), focusing on deep learning and neural networks
• DeepMind acquisition (2014), bringing advanced AI research capabilities
• Development of TensorFlow, an open-source machine learning platform
• Transformer architecture (2017), which revolutionized natural language processing
• Large language models including LaMDA, PaLM, and Gemini
• Integration of AI into products like Google Search, Assistant, and Workspace

Talk to Books

In 2018, Google Research publicly released Talk to Books, an experimental semantic search engine:

• Developed by a team that included Ray Kurzweil, who was a Director of Engineering at Google
• Used a “medium-sized” language model to map sentences into vector space
• Allowed users to ask questions and receive relevant passages from a database of books
• Demonstrated semantic search capabilities by understanding the meaning behind queries
• Provided a new way to explore information beyond keyword matching
• Later discontinued as a public service, though the technology evolved into other applications

Talk to Books served as the technical foundation for Fredbot, an early AI chatbot that searched through the writings of Fredric Kurzweil to find relevant responses. This experimental internal application predated the public release of Talk to Books, using similar semantic search technology to power conversational interaction with a specific corpus of text.

AI Ethics and Memorial Technology

Google’s involvement in memorial AI technology includes:

• Supporting Ray Kurzweil’s Fredbot project through technical resources and engineering expertise
• Exploring the use of AI to preserve and interact with personal knowledge bases
• Publishing research on responsible AI development, including considerations for memorial applications
• Developing privacy and data retention policies that impact posthumous digital presence
• Establishing ethical guidelines for AI development and application

Digital Twin Applications

Google has contributed to digital twin technology through:

• Research into conversational AI that can mimic specific writing and speaking styles
• Development of voice synthesis technology that can recreate human voices
• Projects that demonstrate AI’s ability to interact with specific knowledge domains
• Experiments in personalized AI assistants that adapt to individual users
• Infrastructure that enables the creation and deployment of AI personas

Controversies and Concerns

Privacy and Surveillance Issues

• Nest Data Sharing: Google’s Nest will provide data to police without a warrant, raising significant Privacy concerns
• Counterterrorism Operations: Google shut down an active counterterrorism operation being conducted by a Western democracy
• Historical Archive Lockout: User account locked for sharing historical archive labeled as “terrorist Activity”

Identity Management Problems

Google doesn’t take its role in digital identity seriously enough. Many users have experienced being locked out of their Google accounts with little recourse:

• A letter from a Librarian to Google Security highlights the impact on people with poor access to technology when Google decides to lock them out
• Help: Locked out of 10 years Gmail account - example of catastrophic access loss
• Google’s product designers should talk to my unhoused friends - accessibility and design concerns

Over-Reliance on AI

Google’s heavy use of AI for moderation and policy enforcement creates problems:

• Pushbullet’s struggles with Play Store policy violations - AI repeatedly flagging legitimate privacy policies
• Automated systems with limited appeal processes
• False positives affecting legitimate users and developers

Platform Governance Issues

• Rating Manipulation: India agency blackmailing developer with one-star ratings - Google does nothing
• Google is not a good custodian of the digital commons

Digital Rights Management

• Ownership Issues: You don’t own the movies you purchase - though this is true of many cloud platforms

Walled Gardens

Google is one of several major companies that has created walled gardens, limiting interoperability and user freedom.

Connections

• Employer of Ray Kurzweil
• Developer of technology used in Fredbot
• Creator of Talk to Books
• Contributor to Digital Twins technology
• Research leader in AI Ethics
• Connected to developments in The Rise of AI Twins
• Related to Digital Resurrection technologies
• Major player in evolution of Timeline of Digital Twins and AI-Powered Digital Personas
• Parent company of Google DeepMind
• Issues with Privacy
• Problems with Locked Out users
• Related to A letter from a Librarian to Google Security
• Connected to Google’s product designers should talk to my unhoused friends
• Creates walled gardens

References

• “Introducing Semantic Experiences with Talk to Books and Semantris” (Google Research Blog, 2018)
• “How Ray Kurzweil and His Daughter Brought A Relative Back From The Dead” (PC Magazine, 2023)
• Google AI Principles (Google, updated periodically)
• “How Amy and Ray Kurzweil used AI to reconnect with a lost loved one” (NPR TED Radio Hour, 2025)
• DeepResearch - Ray Kurzweil AI Twins