Wired: So it's Google über alles?

[NashVegas]

Interesting interview, stating we should all be worried about internet consolidation the way we worry about offline media consolidation.

Q&A: Author Nicholas Carr on the Terrifying Future of Computing

Wired: What happened to the Web undermining institutions and empowering individuals?

Carr: Computers are technologies of liberation, but they're also technologies of control. It's great that everyone is empowered to write blogs, upload videos to YouTube, and promote themselves on Facebook. But as systems become more centralized — as personal data becomes more exposed and data-mining software grows in sophistication — the interests of control will gain the upper hand. If you're looking to monitor and manipulate people, you couldn't design a better machine.

Wired: So it's Google über alles?

Carr: Yeah. Welcome to Google Earth. A bunch of bright computer scientists and AI experts in Silicon Valley are not only rewiring our computers — they're dictating the future terms of our culture. It's terrifying.

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/16-01/st_qa