Google Psychic is the latest experimentation out of Google Labs. It is based on Jungian theory of the collective unconscious.  It allows us to find information by tapping into the collective knowledge of the human race. The basic premise is that the user think of a keyword or phrase in his or her head, wait a couple of seconds, and allow results to flow freely either in the form of word associations, images,  sounds, or feelings. The beauty of the system is that it is platform independent, meaning that anyone, even those without the Internet or cellphones, are able to use it.

I tested the system the other night whilst at a dinner party. The couple next to me asked if I knew the name of the flying dog-like creature in the Neverending story.  I closed my eyes, tapped into Google Psychic, and asked the question. The name ‘falcon’ came to mind quite quickly. The couple smiled and said ‘Yes, Falcor, that’s it’. So it’s close to working, just needs a bit more tweaking.

posted by rowanp at 8:17 pm & filed under web, technology, philosophy |