“Don’t Be Evil,” the long-standing corporate mission is starting to sound a bit out-dated. The tech giant has demonstrated that they do more than just avoid malevolent decisions. Google wants to improve the quality of life for large populations. Okay, there are times when Google has its mishaps, as noted by last month’s Google Maps incident, but they are quick to dismiss and correct such occasions.
Now Google is leading a new initiative that brings to mind a new kind of mantra – “Let’s Do Good.” Google CEO Larry Page announced a new independent urban innovation company called Sidewalk Labs.
“Sidewalk will focus on improving city life for everyone by developing and incubating urban technologies to address issues like cost of living, efficient transportation and energy usage,” said Page in a Google+ post.
According to the press release, former CEO of Bloomberg LP and Deputy Mayor of Economic Development and Rebuilding for the City of New York, Dan Doctoroff, will run the New York-based company, and he will have at his disposal Google funding and support, though Page asserts that Google’s investment is “relatively modest.”
In order to get a sense of the eventual scale of Sidewalks, Page compared the company to long-shot projects like Calico, a biotechnology institute aimed at “picking apart the biological mechanisms behind aging,” and Google X, the famous big ideas laboratory responsible for the idea of autonomous cars.
Sidewalk’s focus is not solely on city residents but businesses and government will also benefit from the development of new products, platforms and partnerships.
“We are at the beginning of a historic transformation in cities,” said Doctoroff in his announcement of the company. “At a time when the concerns about urban equity, costs, health and the environment are intensifying, unprecedented technological change is going to enable cities to be more efficient, responsive, flexible and resilient.”
Tackling urban issues is no small task, but it seems fitting in this day and age to begin some form of technological implementation. After all, almost every conceivable consumer product and service has had a digital face-lift.
Sidewalk Labs can be something greater than just a digital upgrade. This can be the early paradigm for next-generation cities, where the physical and digital worlds are seamlessly connected. And there is no better company to undertake a project of this magnitude based on Google’s other very ambitious initiatives that include self-driving cars, biotech ventures and Internet beaming balloons.
In terms of what projects we can expect, there is no clarity on the topic yet.
Doctoroff merely says,
“We hope that Sidewalk will play a major role in developing technology products, platforms and advanced infrastructure that can be implemented at scale in cities around the world.”
Photo Credit: Via Flickr/brionv
