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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Ted 2014: Larry Page on Google's robotic future | Ted 2014: Larry Page on Google's robotic future |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Larry Page wants patients to hand over their data to researchers in order to save "100,000 lives". | Larry Page wants patients to hand over their data to researchers in order to save "100,000 lives". |
| It's just one of the ideas expressed in a wide-ranging interview at the Ted (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in Vancouver. | It's just one of the ideas expressed in a wide-ranging interview at the Ted (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in Vancouver. |
| Google's co-founder criticised the US government for its mass surveillance programs. | Google's co-founder criticised the US government for its mass surveillance programs. |
| But he added that consumers need to accept that a new era of open data is inevitable. | But he added that consumers need to accept that a new era of open data is inevitable. |
| Smarter computers | Smarter computers |
| Interviewed on the Ted stage by US television host Charlie Rose, Mr Page was asked why Google bought the UK machine learning firm DeepMind. | Interviewed on the Ted stage by US television host Charlie Rose, Mr Page was asked why Google bought the UK machine learning firm DeepMind. |
| "I was looking at search and trying to understand how to make computers less clunky and also thinking about how speech recognition is not very good," said Mr Page. | "I was looking at search and trying to understand how to make computers less clunky and also thinking about how speech recognition is not very good," said Mr Page. |
| "We are still at the very early stages with search. Computers don't know where you are and what you are doing," he added. | "We are still at the very early stages with search. Computers don't know where you are and what you are doing," he added. |
| He was drawn to DeepMind because it had helped make computers smarter - teaching them how to play computer games. | He was drawn to DeepMind because it had helped make computers smarter - teaching them how to play computer games. |
| "It was really exciting, we have not been able to do this before. Imagine if that intelligence is thrown at your schedule," said Mr Page. | "It was really exciting, we have not been able to do this before. Imagine if that intelligence is thrown at your schedule," said Mr Page. |
| He said that Google was working on its own machine learning project, using YouTube to "teach" computers. | He said that Google was working on its own machine learning project, using YouTube to "teach" computers. |
| "It has learnt what cats are," he said. | "It has learnt what cats are," he said. |
| Tremendous disservice | Tremendous disservice |
| Mr Page was also asked about the Edward Snowden revelations, following a surprise appearance from the whistle-blower at Ted. | Mr Page was also asked about the Edward Snowden revelations, following a surprise appearance from the whistle-blower at Ted. |
| "It is disappointing that the government secretly did this stuff and didn't tell us about it," said Mr Page. | "It is disappointing that the government secretly did this stuff and didn't tell us about it," said Mr Page. |
| "It is not possible to have a democracy if we have to protect our users from the government. The government has done itself a tremendous disservice and we need to have a debate about it," he added. | "It is not possible to have a democracy if we have to protect our users from the government. The government has done itself a tremendous disservice and we need to have a debate about it," he added. |
| Google has had its fair share of criticism for the way it collects users' data. It is currently embroiled in row with European regulators over its privacy policy. | |
| Mr Page was in defiant mood and warned that people were at risk of "throwing out the baby with the bathwater" over plans to tighten privacy. | Mr Page was in defiant mood and warned that people were at risk of "throwing out the baby with the bathwater" over plans to tighten privacy. |
| "We are not thinking about the tremendous good that can come with sharing information with the right people in the right ways," he said. | "We are not thinking about the tremendous good that can come with sharing information with the right people in the right ways," he said. |
| He said that anonymised medical records should be made available to researchers. | He said that anonymised medical records should be made available to researchers. |
| "It could save 100,000 lives this year," he said. | "It could save 100,000 lives this year," he said. |
| Health data has personal resonance with Mr Page who developed a hoarse voice after a cold 15 years ago from which he has never recovered. Sharing details about his condition helped him, he said. | Health data has personal resonance with Mr Page who developed a hoarse voice after a cold 15 years ago from which he has never recovered. Sharing details about his condition helped him, he said. |
| "I was scared to share but Sergey [Brin] encouraged me and we got thousands of people with similar conditions," he said. | "I was scared to share but Sergey [Brin] encouraged me and we got thousands of people with similar conditions," he said. |
| Gaining space | Gaining space |
| Mr Page also talked about some of his "crazy ideas", including Google Loon, a project to use balloons to provide internet access to parts of the world without any. | Mr Page also talked about some of his "crazy ideas", including Google Loon, a project to use balloons to provide internet access to parts of the world without any. |
| He revealed that he got the idea off the ground with a Google search. | He revealed that he got the idea off the ground with a Google search. |
| "I found that 30 years ago someone had put up a balloon and it had gone round the world multiple times," he said. | "I found that 30 years ago someone had put up a balloon and it had gone round the world multiple times," he said. |
| He realised that a similar thing was possible to connect the two-thirds of the world that have no net access. | He realised that a similar thing was possible to connect the two-thirds of the world that have no net access. |
| "We can build a world-wide mesh of balloons to cover the whole planet." | "We can build a world-wide mesh of balloons to cover the whole planet." |
| Google plans to launch its automated cars on the roads by 2017. The project has been a personal obsession for 18 years, he told the Ted audience. | Google plans to launch its automated cars on the roads by 2017. The project has been a personal obsession for 18 years, he told the Ted audience. |
| "It started when I was at college in Michigan. I was waiting for the bus and it was cold and snowing," he said. | "It started when I was at college in Michigan. I was waiting for the bus and it was cold and snowing," he said. |
| He believes that automated cars can help save lives - currently 20 million people are injured each ear in car accidents and in the US crashes are the biggest cause of death for the under 35s. | He believes that automated cars can help save lives - currently 20 million people are injured each ear in car accidents and in the US crashes are the biggest cause of death for the under 35s. |
| He finished the interview with a call to firms to embrace new technologies. | He finished the interview with a call to firms to embrace new technologies. |
| "Most businesses fail because they miss the future," he said. | "Most businesses fail because they miss the future," he said. |
| It is a mistake he has made himself, he added. | It is a mistake he has made himself, he added. |
| He said that he "felt guilty for wasting time" working on the Android operating system, which at the time was a side project for Google. | He said that he "felt guilty for wasting time" working on the Android operating system, which at the time was a side project for Google. |
| "That was stupid, it was the future," he said. | "That was stupid, it was the future," he said. |