Few of us can escape using Google’s services. From Google search to Gmail, the internet company collects an extraordinary amount of data about each and every one of us. This week the company announced that it is going to turn that data into suggestions about how we should live our lives.
Google has just unveiled a feature for its popular calendar called goals. Users list their personal goals including anything from extra time in the gym to finishing that novel on the bedside table. Because Google knows most of our schedules anyway, the feature sends gentle reminders of when we can work on our goals and it can even reschedule our calendars to accommodate work on goals.
The feature is both brilliant and frightening. It could make us more productive. But again we are reminded of the sheer amount of personal information that internet companies have about us. Perhaps we should not be surprised that after telling Google so much about ourselves, Google is now telling us what to do.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.