What Schmidt means is that providing true authentication for users on the web would be a big money maker for Google. However, no one in their right mind would want Google or Facebook to be the ones providing that authentication. What Schmidt is hoping is that enough people will be foolish enough to sign up for Google+ that his company will become the de facto authenticator. He should be honest -- transparent -- about his motivation, which is to deepen his company's reach into our lives and to fatten his own wallet. When he couches his argument in philosophical or moral terms, it's just eyewash.