Search: How the Data Explosion Makes Us Smarter

CONCLUSION

Searching the Future

Throughout the book, we’ve glimpsed the challenges of search, but we’ve also seen how connected devices, intelligent systems, and higher-fidelity descriptions of the real world can materially change the way we think, behave, and manage our lives.

We’ve seen how search can help people change their actions ever so slightly in a given situation through nudging and how it can make sure users never forget anything they need to remember through augmentation. Search is as profound a breakthrough as any technical marvel this century, and yet we are barely approaching its potential.

Part of the reason, as we’ve seen, is the financial reality of running such a search system. It’s hugely expensive to build and operate something ...