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Can Google’s newest moon-shot idea defeat death itself? On Wednesday, September 18th, Google revealed its new company, Calico. Short for “California Life Company,” Calico will be based in the Bay Area, not far from Google’s headquarters, and will aim to tackle the illnesses and other troubles of aging.
Sophomore technology enthusiast Daniel Aaron Darnell believes it’s “a risky but potential-filled business decision. Google has accomplished many feats that previously seemed impossible. I wouldn’t put it past them to prevent aging.”
In a Time magazine interview, Google CEO Larry Page said, “It takes ten or twenty years to go from an idea to something being real… Maybe we should shoot for the things that are really, really important so ten or twenty years from now we have those things done.”
“I’m not proposing that we spend all of our money on those kinds of speculative things,” Page said in the interview. “But we should be spending a commensurate amount with what normal types of companies spend on research and development, and spend it on things that are a little more long-term and a little more ambitious than people normally would. More like moon shots.”
One of their major initiatives is to significantly lengthen the average human lifespan. Other than that, we do not know much about Calico. It’s unclear whether Calico will specialize in biology or computer science. Either way, Google’s technology skills have promise, now that medicine is becoming more date driven. Time believes that Calico will most likely use its data-processing power to make breakthroughs on age-related issues.
On Google+, Larry Page posted, “OK … so you’re probably thinking wow! That’s a lot different from what Google does today. And you’re right. But as we explained in our first letter to shareholders, there’s tremendous potential for technology more generally to improve people’s lives. So don’t be surprised if we invest in projects that seem strange or speculative compared with our existing Internet businesses.”
With Google being a major search engine, creating new and unique electronics, and competing in the smartphone industry, it might be trying to excel in too many fields. When asked about this, Darnell said, “I think they [Google] already are a jack-of-all-trades. However, they are well-managed and continue to grow. So no, I do not think they are spreading themselves too thin.”
“Last week, Apple announced a gold iPhone; what did you do this week, Google? Oh, we founded a company that might one day defeat death itself,” wrote Time. What do you think? Can Google solve the problem of death?
