The 10 Most Influential People in Science: The minds who move science from theory to action

Larry Page & Sergey Brin; Cofounders, Google: Technological and Moral Vision
How would we find out where our high school crush is working, 20 years after we last saw him, without the inventors of Google? But Google brings the world much more than cyberstalking: It allows us, second grader and Ph.D. alike, to mine information, expand our ideas about a subject, look up scholarly writings via Google Scholar, and even visually explore every inch of our planet with Google Earth. But Google creators Larry Page and Sergey Brin wanted more and took another leap forward with Google.org, their groundbreaking philanthropic organization. Instead of filing for government-compliant not-for-profit status, Google.org (unlike most dot-orgs) is happy to solve problems in the “for profit” mode.

According to David Vise, a Pulitzer Prize–winning business journalist and author of The Google Story: Inside the Hottest Business, Media and Technology Success of Our Time, Brin and Page hope the importance of Google.org may someday eclipse that of Google itself. “To get more bang for the buck,” Vise told us, “they have adopted a hybrid model that goes beyond charitable giving to embrace self-sustaining projects—think microlending—that can be profitable. In addition to seeding small businesses and putting them on a more market-oriented footing, this positions Google.org to redistribute the funds anew when loans are repaid.” Currently focused on an array of initiatives in energy, public health, and global poverty, Google.org tapped Larry Brilliant, a doctor specializing in preventive medicine and public health and the former CEO of two public companies, to serve as its executive director.

Brilliant, founder of both the Seva Foundation, which works around the world to cure and prevent blindness, and the pioneering virtual community the WELL, says the Google duo are not just “technological visionaries” but also “moral and structural visionaries. The creation of Google.org—a new way to do good in the world with profits from a technology company—could not have happened if Larry and Sergey had not conceived it prior to Google’s success,” Brilliant says. “After the IPO, it would have been too late. In a way, they foresaw the future. Similar things can be said about the way they push the boundaries of renewable energy, organization structures, the way they build buildings,” Brilliant adds. “Heck, these guys are computer geeks, but they are also moral prodigies, and that may well outlast their other legacies. Their ethical commitments inspired me to come to Google to work with them.” Read Article

By Susan Kruglinski and Marion Long