Google releases Skynet ... I mean, 'Prediction API'

One of Google's biggest strengths is its ability to make predictions based on data. If you're a developer with a bunch of data, and you want to harness the freakishly-accurate predictive powers of Google, there's now an API for that. Google's Prediction API analyzes patterns in your data to do things like generating product recommendations, sorting email, routing messages, or identifying suspicious activity.

To use it, you'll have to drop your data into Google Storage for Developers, but the API itself works as a pretty easy-to-use RESTful Web service. You can use it with existing Google products like App Engine or Apps Scripts. It's currently only available by invitation, but you can sign up for the waiting list today.

So, is this Google's version of Skynet, the self-aware computer network from Terminator? Will the whole Web now watch and predict your every move? Should we be on the lookout for a sentient robot army? Naaaah. My guess is that the Prediction API will just raise the bar for ease of use in webapps, and we'll end up expecting them to guess what we want and make recommendations the same way Google does. Not such a bad thing, eh?