Terminator Nemesis Looks Familiar: It's Google

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.)