Google Flights in 2030: Mirrorworld Design

This post reimagines the future of travel convenience done through Google Flights and its related services. 
It was part of a brainstorming exercise done by Mary Ann, Pavithra, Karen, Livia, and I.
Questions we asked: 

• What would be the future data driven scenario: optimistic, neutral, and catastrophic?
• How would the revamped user experience look like?
• What would be the features and technological trends in these scenarios?

The format was adopted from Amy Webb's talk and reports by The Future Today Institute. 

Reimagined Website (Google Flights)

• Google starts to partner with airlines so you can just search, buy, and fly using the same system
• Google Home listens to you talking about travel and starts to tell you when flights 
• Seamless integration of flight notifications
• Auto-cancellation if Google knows what else you’re doing—your calendar, whether you’re close on Google Maps
• Suggests that you take flights if you haven’t taken a vacation in a while, if your biometric data shows that you’re stressed or tired
• Google knows who you are and makes recommendations based on who you are: are you a person who is an introvert? Likes to go where things are trendy? Want to be more isolated?
• Google knows your social network and recommends friends of friends who live in the destination for you to contact

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Scenarios

• Optimistic
  • Your data is just between you and Google
  • Data is not the product
  • ​Google has no commercial advantage to recommending various places over the other​
• Neutral
  • You’re not as special as you think you are - it’s suggesting these products for you and everyone
  • You’re steered towards specific products/experiences
  • Not as personalized
  • It’s very difficult to stray from specific Google options
• Pessimistic
  • You don’t even know what the other options are; the world has been built around you and you have no way to choose differently
  • Every aspect of your data is sold and every “experience” is based on ads
  • Your biometric data is used as “reviews” to reward or punish service workers
  • Bugs, hacks, nothing works right. You decide to stray from the predetermined agenda and are repeatedly shocked by your watch

User experience

• A person is having breakfast, Google starts to tell you about a menu of options for activities, restaurants
  • Knows you’ve been in the city a lot, so suggests the beach
  • Knows your culture, so suggests more culturally relevant places
  • Based on your social media searches/posts you like, how your biometric data responds on viewing, Google gives you a few options for what you’re already interested in
  • How do I pack? Weather predictions
• While you’re on vacation
  • What’s my agenda for the day? Suggestions based on your previous interests and behaviors
  • Biometric data: it knows when you’re getting tired or crabby and suggests nearby cafes
  • Posts to social media for you, based on ML and biometric data-determined highlights
  • If you get sick or are bitten by an unidentified insect, based on your wearable/biometric scanning, Google can recommend treatment/healthcare/hospital - you can talk to it and try to describe what’s happened to you
• After vacation
  • Automatic album and timeline, packaged “memories” like Facebook
  • A year later it reminds you

Feature perspective

• How to market: Let us take the stress out of vacation planning! We’ll let you know what the best time is to go based on your schedule, and when to take a break so you can optimize your productivity!
• Google tracks biometric data and sees that user is stressed/overworked, suggests going on a vacation
• Google figures out when you’d be free based on your schedule, contacts your employer, schedules the time for you
• Google Pay knows your financial information, knows when you’re getting paid based on the time of the month - so whether you can pay for it or not
• Google partners with airlines or starts their own airline to create a more seamless ecosystem