Google plans to invest in research at Cambridge

Internet giant plans to make investments of nearly £6 billion in American and British universities

by Connie Scozzaro

This article is 15 years old

Thursday February 4 2010, 3:39pm

The University of Cambridge is set to become a beneficiary of Google’s recent plan to invest massive funds into university research projects.

Google has announced that it plans to make investments of up to $1.5 billion (approximately £956 million) towards research funding. Although the majority of recipients will be American institutions, Cambridge is also expected to receive funding.

Individual grants will range between $100,000 and $1.5 million. This is substantially higher than previously grants of only around $50,000.

Google plans to make the investment in four main areas: mobile phones as tools for the collection of data in science research, energy efficiency in computing, privacy, and machine learning.

The last is a scientific area concerned with the development of algorithms that allow computers to alter their behavioural processes based on the data they receive.

Privacy is becoming an ever-increasing concern for the consumer. With the expansion of Google Mail and calendar services, Google has access to an enormous volume of personal details about its users. By investing in new privacy technology, the company can potentially charge more for its services.

The promise of increased privacy is attractive to the consumer. According to a study conducted by Louise Cranor, leader of one of the research projects at Carnegie Mellon University, half of all consumers tested were prepared to pay more for improved privacy settings, especially in situations that involved personal purchases, such as pornography, condoms, or sex toys.

Despite the promise of increased funding coming to Cambridge, many students expressed concerns about the power Google would subsequently have over research projects at the University. One first-year at St Johns College expressed concern about a “massive American company getting a stronghold over students”.

He added, “It’s just another advertising ploy. It’s not a selfless piece of charity on Google’s part, is it?”

Google is among the largest companies in the world, with an estimated worth of $20 - $25 billion.

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