Things more likely than Google paying Russia $2 undecillion
Things more likely than Google paying Russia $2 undecillion
That's $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 by the way
Excitingly, Russia went and fined Google two undecillion dollars.
The Kremlin is irritated that the Silicon Valley giant banned its propaganda-spewing YouTube channels and, in response, the nation issued a fine. After being ignored for nine months, the fee doubles each day, recently reaching, yes, you guessed it, two undecillion dollars.
That, my friends, is more than the entire GDP of the earth. A figure that, according to International Monetary Fund, sits at around $110 trillion.
You know what? I’ve gotta respect it. Reach for the stars, Russia, have high expectations. Sadly for them though, it’s deeply unlikely Google will pay any of this fine.
And is the company worried about the potential ramifications of this action? Not really. In its report on the matter, Google said they “do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse effect” on their business.
Ouch. Bad time to be a Russian compensation lawyer.
In honour of this momentous, undecillion-coded occasion, this edition of The Rectangle is going to be focusing on numbers too. Specifically, odds. Even more specifically, what things in the tech world are more likely to happen than Google paying Russia $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
All batteries in gadgets become easily replaceable
And they all remain waterproof and sleek-looking. No more changing devices just because battery life is bad.
Apple turns into a non-profit
Tim Cook decides that enough is enough, Apple is making too much money and that’s not good for anyone. It’s time to stop all that nonsense and give all the cash away.
Spotify and other music streamers begin paying musicians a living wage
What’s that? Artists… making money? Shocking. I’m not sure such a thing should be legal.
Elon Musk becomes someone you wouldn’t cross the street to avoid
No more jumping around and trying to make himself the centre of attention. He donates a lot of money to reputable charities, turns Twitter into a publicly-owned platform, and quietly disappears. I felt my heart rate lower just thinking about it.
An AI company does something good for society
Imagine that. A company that helps people and doesn’t simply profit off the fruit of human labour.
Amazon’s recommendations actually work
If I buy an expensive TV, Amazon no longer only recommends other expensive TVs. Instead, it suggests other, related things, rather than other versions of the pricey thing I just bought.
There’s only one video streaming service
And every TV show and movie is on it. It’s also reasonably priced.
Digital journalism becomes well-funded and healthy
Local journalism also makes a comeback and everyone gets along and society improves.
Universal Basic Income arrives
The hyper wealthy realise that hoarding money like a Tolkien dragon maybe isn’t all that good for humanity.
Microsoft Teams is good
No, that could never happen. Things just got way too far fetched.
There we have it, a selection of things that are more likely than Google paying Russia undecillions of dollars. Well, apart from Microsoft Teams being good. That’ll never happen.