On August 4, 2006, AOL Research, headed by Dr. Abdur Chowdhury, released a compressed text file on one of its websites containing twenty million search keywords for over 650,000 users over a 3-month period intended for research purposes. AOL deleted the search data on their site by August 7, but not before it had been mirrored and distributed on the Internet.

As the queries were attributed by AOL to particular user numerically identified accounts, an individual could be identified and matched to their account and search history by such information. The New York Times was able to locate an individual from the released and anonymized search records by cross referencing them with phonebook listings. Consequently, the ethical implications of using this data for research are under debate.

AOL acknowledged it was a mistake and removed the data; however, the removal was too late. The data was redistributed by others and can still be downloaded from mirror sites. In January 2007, Business 2.0 Magazine on CNNMoney ranked the release of the search data #57 in a segment called “101 Dumbest Moments in Business.”

Google ghost-writes this accidental plan - "To organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." When the world itself is seen as literal information, the task of organising all the information is the same as organising all the world.

GeoGraphics, a 56-page book highlights the graphic design byproducts of this planetary reorganisation. From the phantom vibration in your pocket, a dark search history, to Siri's watchful gaze, Turing tests, virtual models, the NFT's tulip craze, rare earth and more.