Big data: Web of intrigue

Google is using the vast amount of data it has about the world – and you – to transform the way you travel. But who is in control? Jenny Southan reports If you think Google is simply about searching for things, think again. Depending on your privacy settings and how much information you voluntarily give up, the tech giant knows where you are, the places you travel to, the restaurants you eat in, the location of your home and office, who your friends are, the things you like, the websites you browse and what’s written in your emails. Google probably knows you better than your own parents. It uses all this information to target relevant advertising to you, of course, but its aim is much more than that. With the personal data Google collates, on the one hand it is benevolently working to make your life easier – when it comes to researching and booking travel, it is transforming the industry – but on the other, its modus operandi could be perceived as more sinister. Google’s mobile operating system, Android, now dominates the smartphone market with an 81 per cent share, while Google Search is used by 71 per cent of people globally, so the extent to which the mega-corporation is weaving itself throughout our lives is clear. Given we can organise virtually every aspect of travel online, it is no surprise that the company is continually adding new functions – from hotel finders and live traffic updates to voice-activated translation and apps that scan your inbox for bookings. With just your Gmail login, Google links the information it knows about you, and can, if you wish, tell you if your plane is delayed, if there are roadworks up ahead or where your friends like to eat. Stuart Miles, founder of gadget site pocket-lint.com, says: “Google is trying to become more of a one-stop shop, so if I want to search for currency exchange, for example, I no longer have to go to a [specific] website – I can just type the amounts into Google.” You don’t even need an Android device to get a taste of its super powers – from virtually every desktop computer and smartphone, Google rules cyberspace, and we can’t live without it. But is that a bad thing? Many companies would say yes. Flight comparison sites such as Expedia, Kayak and Orbitz have accused Google of taking advantage of its ubiquity by displaying its own results with direct links to individual airline websites above theirs. Concerns about search bias began to be raised a number of years ago and antitrust cases have since been filed with the European Commission, though there has not yet been a clear resolution. In its defence, Ed Parsons, geospatial technologist for Google, says: “We don’t believe there is any basis to this. There is a very vibrant, competitive environment out there for people. Expedia [for example] has been doing this much longer than we have and is much more well established.” That may be so, but futurologist Peter Cochrane notes: “Google has better information and better search capabilities than the travel industry. The legal system is about a decade behind, and Google is so big and rich that if it all goes badly wrong, it can pay the fine.” Competition lobby fairsearch.org presents updates and information on “the Google Problem” along with a list of its members, the biggest names being Trip Advisor, Expedia, Microsoft and Nokia. It could not be reached for comment, however, and Expedia was unwilling to be interviewed about Google. What seems obvious is that provided you don’t mind giving up a chunk of personal data, your life can be made much easier by its services. Google launched its Flight Search (google.com/flights) and Hotel Finder (google.com/hotelfinder) portals in the US in 2011, and is now rolling them out across Europe. At present, according to commentators, its market share in online travel comparison is still marginal, but for the traveller, the functionality can be handy. In the case of Flight Search (for services originating in the US, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands), you can type in your destinations and dates, and instantly see airlines, times and prices as a list or on a map, as well as fluctuations in rates across the month displayed as a graph. The booking links tend to be sponsored by the carrier, thus bringing in revenue to Google if you click on them. If you are planning a holiday, you may also fancy trying Google Flights Explore (google.co.uk/flights/explore). Punch in your departure city, then select “Caribbean” and it will show graphs for destinations displaying the best prices across three months, and all the airlines that serve it. You can then immediately see that US$1,051, for example, is the best rate going for a one-week trip to Aruba in January, and you will need to fly with American Airlines. Hotel Finder, which was extended to Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late 2012, is just as simple. Type in when and where you are going and a range of options will appear with prices clearly displayed and a map showing their location. It will even highlight things such as free wifi and whether it is a good deal based on how much it usually costs. Parsons says: “Part of Google’s mantra has been to make information more accessible, useful and more readily available to people. And that is never more important than when we travel. We don’t go to a travel agent any more – we sit in front of a computer and may visit dozens of websites even when planning a relatively simple trip. We look at this problem in terms of how we can streamline that, make it easier for people and to perhaps personalise it bit more.” As far as Cochrane can see, this is a good thing. “What is actually happening is degrees of intelligence are being embedded. I really don’t want to type in that I want a double bed in a non-smoking room every time – it remembers all that stuff and starts to give me my preferences.” In a bid to expose its search functionality to a wider base of people, Google began its image-led “Knowledge Graph hotel experiment” in the US earlier in 2013. The idea was to bring up a carousel of images as soon as someone typed in “Paris hotels”, for instance, to make the experience more visual. As with restaurants and bars, they are generated by review scores from Zagat (now owned by Google) to create results powered by recommendations instead of conventional search engine optimisation tricks. Metasearch – recognising what you are trying to search for, as well as understanding the broader context – is core to Google’s drive to personalise the search experience. Parsons explains: “If we know you have searched for flights to Boston, then we know that the next thing you will want are hotels in Boston, and then restaurants, and we might be able to bring up pictures of neighbourhoods, reviews, and Trip Advisor content.” These days, integrating geolocation is a big part of Google’s offering, be it through Earth, Maps, Street View or personal assistant application Google Now, which predicts what you need before you ask for it. Parsons says: “There was an idea at the beginning that the internet would destroy geography – it didn’t matter where you were, you could get access to whatever you needed. But actually it had the reverse impact – geography became even more important and, often behind the scenes, we will be using it to give you information that is most appropriate to you.” Everyone is familiar with Google Maps, but if you log in through your Gmail account it can start to tailor your experience. You can enter your home and work addresses through Google Now, for example, so that you can see the quickest transport options from wherever you are. These information “cards” also come in the form of weather updates, restaurant reservations, hotel directions, event reminders, nearby bars and galleries, local language and currency translations, and the time in your home country. Parsons says: “It’s very personalised because it is based on you as an individual – your calendar and emails. When you get an email confirmation from your airline telling you your flight details, we can use that information to populate your cards with the status of that flight.” Concerned about e-privacy? You should be. But most of this is opt in, and Google Now only works in conjunction with Gmail. “We are not going around poking in other people’s email accounts,” Parsons says. That said, to get the most out of Google’s services, you need to share some of your personal data in exchange. To the dismay of satnav manufacturers, Google launched Maps Navigation in 2009 (2010 for UK consumers), so for some time it has been able to show you if there is congestion on the roads by combining official traffic feeds from government agencies with “anonymous probe data” provided by Android smartphone users sitting in their cars. Parsons says: “We anonymously ping someone so we can see how quickly they are moving – there are quite clever algorithms that can see whether it is someone walking, jogging or stuck in a traffic jam, even though the speed could be the same.” Things got even smarter when Google bought Israeli social navigation app Waze in June 2013 for more than US$1 billion. Parsons says: “Waze allows us to recognise where there are real-time traffic problems because of the way the community will highlight those. Members who have the app are driving along, seeing there is bad traffic and identifying the cause, and we then make that information available.” Most of us have played with Street View on Google Maps, but now the giant is sending its roving cameras to photograph interiors. In November, Indoor Street View came to Gatwick airport, so now passengers can zoom in on the map and find themselves walking around the terminals. Planning a holiday? You can use Street View to navigate ski slopes, or turn to Views and Treks to see panoramic images of the world’s greatest monuments and natural wonders. Download the Field Trip app and, as you wander about your city, you will be alerted to places of interest nearby. Parsons says: “In the past few years we have done a lot of work that means you get to see your own map based on your interests, the things you have looked for, where your friends are and the places you like visiting. My map, for example, knows where my home is, my office, the bars I have visited, and those that my friends have reviewed and shared [through the Google Plus social network]. This means if I search for an Indian restaurant in Birmingham, I will get results, among other things, based on my friend’s recommendations. The maps recreate themselves based on the task you are trying to do. “If you search for the Natural History Museum in London, the map will then highlight other museums and galleries. If you are logged in, we can customise aspects to you and get to know your preferences. You will get one experience sharing no information and a better experience sharing some of your information. You have that control.” Or do you…?

How Google Glass could change the way we travel

“Two years ago, Glass was a backpack and huge goggles, but we have got it down to this,” says Zoe, gesturing to the slender, lens-free titanium frames she’s wearing in sky blue (they also come in tangerine, cotton, shale and charcoal). She looks like a distinctly fashionable cyborg with her long blonde hair, yellow cashmere sweater and glinting prism perched above her right eye. Zoe works for Google and wears Glass daily, so it is not surprising that she seems at ease using it, turning her head slightly and looking upwards to give commands. “Okay Glass…” is the prefix she gives each time, whether it’s to “take a picture”, ask “how do I get to Victoria station?” or “send an email”. Google released the first wave of its cutting-edge heads-up mounted displays at the beginning of 2013 to US-based engineers and “Glass Explorers” – 8,000 of these were chosen by Google via Twitter as part of a competition to reward the most creative responses to the hashtag #ifihadglass. Still in its beta phase, Google has not yet confirmed when the device will be released on the mainstream market, but it is likely to be at some point in 2014, with commentators estimating a price tag of £600-£700. Glass can be operated either with voice recognition, which works surprisingly well, or manually, with a simple range of gestures on the right-hand arm, which acts as a touchpad. There is also a tiny button on top for taking pictures. It weighs 42g and packs 12GB of storage, but has no built-in modem so needs to be paired to an Android or Apple smartphone to connect to the internet (it works best with wifi). At its heart is Google Search, so it works in much the same way as your web browser at home, except the interface is simpler and what you see appears as a translucent screen a few inches away from your right eye. Sound is provided through “bone conduction”, like a hearing aid, while the really clever functions are provided by third-party applications (or “Glassware”). At the moment there are about a dozen official apps including CNN, Facebook, Twitter, Field Trip and the New York Times, with more coming soon. Robert Scoble, tech blogger and start-up liaison officer for open cloud company Rackspace, is an enthusiastic Explorer – in fact, he has vowed never to take Glass off and even tweeted a photo of himself wearing them in the shower. Scoble is also a frequent flyer, and recently pinged Business Traveller an email saying: “I’m flying back from Dublin right now with Google Glass on my head. I love travelling with it. Not only do I always have a camera ready, but it tells me where my flights are [and] lets me make calls while dragging two suitcases.” Photographer Aaron Fuhrman, another Explorer, used the device to document a 10,000km road trip across the western United States in a 2014 Camaro SS. He says: “I used it to record first-person driving of the car through some of the most amazing landscapes. I could keep both hands on the steering wheel, tilt my head back slightly to activate Glass, say: ‘Okay Glass, take a picture’ and then say: ‘Share with…’ to post to Google Plus or another social account. A tap on the touchpad followed by a couple of quick swipes gives me weather, nearby places of interest and much more. It is amazing how it instinctively knows what I’m up to and where I want to go next, and delivers this information without me searching for it.” He concludes: “Glass for business travellers is very viable. Want to know how to get to your hotel? Glass already knows. Want to know if your flight is on time and what gate it is at when you arrive at the airport? Glass already knows. Need a reminder for the time of your next meeting? Glass already knows. Glass is a glimpse of where technology is heading.” Futurologist Peter Cochrane isn’t convinced. “Most technologies take at least seven years to make it to the marketplace so everything you are getting excited about is actually quite old,” he says. “BT Laboratories, MIT Media Lab, Georgia Tech and the University of Ontario created their own versions of Google Glass as far back as 18 years ago but there wasn’t one that didn’t hurt your eyes because there is a contest in your brain between near-field and far-field vision. Google Glass may end up like 3D televisions, with no one buying them.”