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Philipp Lenssen, the resident guru at Google Blogoscoped and a frequent WebProNews contributor, has looked far, far into the future, and he's sharing his predictions with the rest of us. They cover the next two technological "levels" of search, and even delve into the intriguing years "beyond."

Lenssen also shares his humorous take on the Rocky movies (look for Rocky Jr. with a computer-generated Stallone), but that's a topic for another day.

According to Lenssen's ranking system, we're currently sitting at Level 2. Level 3, he believes, will pack more (relevant) information onto the search results page, and will also offer more opportunities for personalization. It sounds entirely plausible, although the question of where that "relevant information" should come from - and even what relevant information is - could become a sticky one.

On to Level 4, which Lenssen describes as a "big and important step for the search AI." We're not talking true artificial intelligence, but it's getting there. "The search AI will be able to reach logical conclusions, but it will have a harder time differentiating between what a human would think of as interesting conclusions vs boring ones," according to Lenssen.

Lastly, he considers how search might develop in the years "beyond," and in this section, which is liberally sprinkled with the word "may," things get really interesting. At the core of the predictions: a self-aware, intelligent and inquisitive search engine that we might access through a brain implant or a humanoid avatar.

Some of Lenssen's predictions sound great; some make me happy that we're only at Level 2. They're all interesting, though, and you can read them here.

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Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest eBusiness news.