I really dislike the whole Google point - it just seems to be buying into the Google / privacy hysteria / phobia, and is a really extreme cynical viewpoint on these things. Yes, they want data (both Google and 23andMe). And yes they want to exploit it, and make money from that. But the reason they want to do that is because there is value there. Value to the companies, but the only reason it's valuable to them is because there is much, much greater to the downstream users that they will pass this information on to. I really dislike the exaggerated tone. For example:
> [Google makes money ] ... By parceling out that information to help advertisers target you, with or without your consent
Umm. No. 1) don't use Google services. Or 2) go to your account settings and disable personalised ads or 3) browse in incognito mode, etc. There are loads of ways to choose not to be targeted by ads. People seem to constantly feel a need to exaggerate what Google actually does. They don't "sell your data", they don't "track" you, they don't do anything "without your consent".
Not that I think Google needs any help defending themselves here - but what really concerns me is that we can very quickly slide into a kind of technophobia that will take a cynical viewpoint on every form of new technology. Anyone here involved in a startup can be a victim of that, and the level of acceptance by society of new technologies and change is really, really crucial to moving society forward.
> [Google makes money ] ... By parceling out that information to help advertisers target you, with or without your consent
Umm. No. 1) don't use Google services. Or 2) go to your account settings and disable personalised ads or 3) browse in incognito mode, etc. There are loads of ways to choose not to be targeted by ads. People seem to constantly feel a need to exaggerate what Google actually does. They don't "sell your data", they don't "track" you, they don't do anything "without your consent".
Not that I think Google needs any help defending themselves here - but what really concerns me is that we can very quickly slide into a kind of technophobia that will take a cynical viewpoint on every form of new technology. Anyone here involved in a startup can be a victim of that, and the level of acceptance by society of new technologies and change is really, really crucial to moving society forward.