Google's future is useful, creepy and everywhere: nine things learned at I/O

There were whoops and cheers from developers as Google announced the incremental ways it is strengthening its grip on many aspects of people's lives at its annual developer conference, Google I/O. There were no jaw-dropping major product launches nor executives proclaiming their utopian vision of the future (ahem, Mark Zuckerberg). Instead there was a showcase of features, powered by artificial intelligence, designed to make people more connected – and more reliant on Google. "We are focused on our core mission of organising the world's information for everyone and approach this by applying deep computer science and technical insights to solve problems at scale," said CEO Sundar Pichai. By combining the personal data harvested from its users with industry leading (and human Go player beating) artificial intelligence, Google is squeezing itself into spaces in our everyday interactions it hasn't been before, filling in the gaps and oozing into new territory like a sticky glue that is becoming harder and harder to escape.