subjects. The effectiveness of prayer, the additional scrutiny
determined, remains a matter of opinion.^7
Prayers to Google, however, are answered. It offers knowledge to
everyone, despite background or educational level—if you have a
smartphone (88 percent of consumers)^8 or an internet connection (40
percent),^9 you can have any question answered. If you want to witness
a small part of the staggering diversity of questions asked of Google in
real time, go to google.com/about and scroll down to “What the world
is searching for now.”
Three and a half billion times each day human beings turn their
gaze not upward but downward to their screen. We won’t be judged for
asking the wrong question. Sheer ignorance is welcome—“What is
Brexit?” “When is fever dangerous?” Or plain curiosity: “Best tacos in
Austin.” And we pour out the deepest questions of our heart to our
modern-day god: “Why is he not calling me back?” “How do you know
if you should get a divorce?”
And answers, mysteriously, appear. Google’s algorithms, a work of
divine intervention in the eyes of most of us, summon compilations of
useful information. The Mountain View search firm answers the
questions that plague us, trivial and profound, easing our suffering. Its
search results are our benediction: “Go. Take your newfound
knowledge and live a better life.”
Trust
Apple is considered the most innovative company in the world.^10
Amazon, the most reputable (whatever that means).^11 Facebook is
thought of as the best firm to work for.^12 But the trust we place in
Google is unrivaled.
One sense in which Google is our modern god is that it knows our
deepest secrets. It’s clairvoyant, keeping a tally of our thoughts and
intentions. With our queries, we confess things to Google that we
wouldn’t share with our priest, rabbi, mother, best friend, or doctor.
Whether it’s stalking an old girlfriend, figuring out what caused your
rash, or looking up if you have an unhealthy fetish or are just really