Google employs a lot of smart people. Everybody knows that. But when a search ad company posts a job opening for a “genetic detection expert,” you may be genetically predisposed to stopping and staring.
The position is offered through Google.org, the Mountain View-based Internet giant’s philanthropic wing that looks into solving the world’s problems while Google.com is indexing the world’s information. The genetic detection expert would be guiding a team in the science of predicting and preventing emerging infections via newfangled biotechnologies.
You know, probably the kind your insurance won’t cover.
Call it conspiracy theory, but I have to say part of the job description reads like a lead-up to the system used for genetic profiling in Gattaca:
You will have a strong foundation in clinical diagnosis (MD or relevant PhD preferred), background in infectious diseases of the developing world, their pathophysiology, and a fundamental understanding of infectious disease transmission dynamics. Experience with clinical diagnostics and emerging biotechnologies related to molecular genetics, including sequencing technologies, nanotechnology and computational biology, and fluency with current research is critical.
Sequencing technologies? Computational biology? Sounds like a lot more fancy math Google will work into its main algorithm. Any bets on whether Google in 2015 will be able to serve ads based on your genetic predisposition toward liking cheeseburgers? Don’t laugh. It’s all within the multi-armed reach of the Datenkrake!
