Short for the California Life Company, Calico has a fairly ambitious goal: to solve death. Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer to Apple wrote in his own Google+ statement:
OK … so you’re probably thinking wow! That’s a lot different from what Google does today. And you’re right. But as we explained in our first letter to shareholders, there’s tremendous potential for technology more generally to improve people’s lives. So don’t be surprised if we invest in projects that seem strange or speculative compared with our existing Internet businesses.
Google's goal may be lofty - Larry Page, Google's CEO, calls it a "moon shot" - but it's a goal to benefit society. However, should Google achieve this goal, the company itself would benefit too.
In chapter 3 of Why Nations Fail, Acemoglu and Robinson argue that economic prosperity is the result of "inclusive economic institutions [which] foster economic activity, productivity growth, and economic prosperity." (p. 75) Acemoglu and Robinson highlight the importance of property rights and how, when people have confidence due to inclusive economic institutions that they will gain from their own innovations, they creatively invent benefitting the public. Without these property rights, US companies would not take the risks they are taking today.
No one's saying Google's reversing the aging process any time soon but within the economically inclusive institutions of the US, they're going to try.
Your post offers clear evidence of the veracity of the book's argument that inclusive institutions are critical to fostering innovation. A counter example can be seen in China, where intellectual property rights violations hinder foreign investment and innovation because companies can't rely on protection of their patents. Inclusive institutions that protect innovation are super important!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.worldwatch.org/chinese-companies-tackling-intellectual-property-rights-issues