Description: Over the past ten years Google has emerged as the dominant site for searching the web and finding what you need. Without Google or other similar search engines, the vast stores of data available on the web would be largely inaccessible and useless. The first half of this course provides an overview of the technology that underlies Google's operations (in a manner suitable for a nonmajor), which span the core areas of Computer Science, including databases, distributed systems, artificial intelligence, and others. The second half of the course will examine this technology's impact on our culture and economy. For example, is it ethical for Google to prioritize search results for paying advertisers? What is the impact of storing data gathered from the web forever? The technical topics will include an overview of Google's basic infrastructure and techniques, while the cultural topics will include privacy and censorship, Google in China, and Google's interactions with the U.S. government.

Format: Class meetings (2 hours, 3 times per week) will consist primarily of discussions and debates based on reading assignments. Students will write 2-page summaries of the assigned readings before each class, and will take turns leading discussions. Class attendance and participation will be mandatory to receive a passing grade.

Prerequisites: None.

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