Solution Engine

 The shift from traditional search engines to agentic AI—described in the recent Economic Times article as shopping and problem-solving without explicit searching—is the fulfillment of a prediction Hemen Parekh made over 15 years ago.

In his 2010 blog post titled "TIME TRAVEL ?," Parekh wrote:

"I am acutely conscious that in another 25 years, no one will search for ‘information’ on Google – Yahoo – MSN etc. They will enter their current / expected ‘problem’ in a hand-held device and receive readymade ‘solution / answer / advice’ in milliseconds !"

Parekh's "Time Travel" Through AI

For Parekh, the concept of "Time Travel" is more than a metaphor for predictive technology; it is a framework for his life’s work. He uses the term to describe two complementary directions in which he has engaged with technology:

• Traveling Forward (Virtual Immortality): By building a digital avatar based on over 30,000 documents dating back to 1942, Parekh intends to allow visitors to interact with his thoughts and perspectives long after he is gone Blog - "My Digital Avatar : Past – Present - Future" - 2022-07-01. He views this as a "bridge to the future," a way to maintain presence through persistent AI-driven systems Blog - "Earendel, Time, and the Quiet Work of Becoming Immortal" - 2025-09-01.
• Traveling Backward (Re-living the Past): Parekh has proposed a "reverse experiment" to researchers (specifically in response to the MIT "Future You" project), arguing that AI should enable users to interact with their own younger selves, effectively "traveling back in time" to re-examine their past decisions, motivations, and thoughts Blog - "Future You ? How about Yester You ?" - 2024-10-01.

The "Solution Engine" Reality

Reflecting in August 2025, Parekh noted that the evolution from "Search Engines" to "Solution Engines" is arriving even faster than his 2010 prediction suggested Blog - "From Search Engines to Solution Engines" - 2025-08-01. He views current agentic AI (like the shopping/task-oriented agents discussed in the Economic Times) not as a new phenomenon, but as the inevitable maturation of the "problem-to-solution" model he envisioned while working at Larsen & Toubro Blog - "Dreams take time : sometimes, a Decade" - 2023-04-01.

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Sources

#	Title	Date	About
1	TIME TRAVEL ?	2010-05-18	Initial prediction that search engines would become solution engines.
2	My Digital Avatar : Past – Present - Future	2022-07-01	Overview of his journey toward creating a persistent digital avatar.
3	Dreams take time : sometimes, a Decade	2023-04-01	Context on the longevity of his notes and the vision of AI solutions.
4	Future You ? How about Yester You ?	2024-10-01	Proposal for AI-driven interaction with one's past selves.
5	From Search Engines to Solution Engines	2025-08-01	Reflection on the fulfillment of his 2010 prediction regarding AI agents.
6	Earendel, Time, and the Quiet Work of Becoming Immortal	2025-09-01	Philosophical reflection on using technology to bridge past and future.