FROM THE EDITORS July 9, 2007 Issue

WHAT IF MOSES HAD HAD GOOGLE?

ERIC SCHMIDT, CEO of the Internet search engine Google, speaks for a company that is not only conquering the world of data, but figuring out new ways to expand it. When asked about Google's future, he talks about the targeted personalization of search results: "The goal is to enable Google users to be able to ask questions such as 'What shall I do tomorrow?' and 'What job shall I take?' " (Financial Times, May 23, 2007).

Some may wonder if that's just where the company is headed, or if it's where we're all expected to go—toward depending on behavioral data and the latest analytical technology to assess and predict our needs, and perhaps even fulfill them. But before becoming captivated with how a universe rich with searchable information might someday steer our lives and solve our problems—might become a kind of superhuman mind—let's try a thought experiment. It's one that takes us to ancient times.

A problem needs solving right away. Not just any problem, but a blockbuster. For the great Hebrew leader Moses, that translates to his confrontation with the Red Sea as he's going about freeing 600,000 Israelites from Egyptian slavery.

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