It is creepy how Google Idea's projects all seem to be military type projects. It gives the impression that Google is actively using its social graph to do police work.
Google Ideas is a think/do tank that explores how technology can enable people to confront threats in the face of conflict, instability or repression.
Their list of projects makes much more sense in that light.
In a sense you can understand the perspectives of some western governments, because they think that we are better off than under-developed nations. And as long as they think that I believe two things will continue to happen. The hegemony will prevail, and its denizes will remain apathetic to its off shore actions.
Speak for yourself. Most people would be out of their homes pronto is they didn't work 6-7 day weeks -- and tons of them already are on the streets or trailers...
http://www.google.com/ideas/projects/arms-visualization/
> "Global illicit networks — from drug smuggling and arms dealing to human trafficking and organ harvesting — affect millions of people across the world, generating over $2.1 trillion every year. Existing, publicly available information about illicit networks is often not presented in a format that allows the patterns of trade to be easily understood. Applying the power of data visualization to this information can enable a greater understanding of the underlying mechanics of these networks, which in turn can lead to much more targeted and effective efforts to counter them."
This paragraph makes it sounds like they are interested in illicit activity in a general and abstract sense and are considering participating in the War on Drugs.
I wonder who else, besides Google, has "big data" that they'd like to analyze...