Google admits AI search makes less money, but it's fixing that with more ads(arstechnica.com)
8 pointsby keeda3 hours ago3 comments
  • gdulli2 hours ago
    Going from cable to streaming was a net increase in advertising because now the providers can make ads unskippable. (Also the ads are hypertargeted now.)

    Going from traditional search to AI will echo that net worsening of ad-related user experience. The net surveillance is also greater because logged-out search will go away.

    Maybe there's a general lesson that successive generations/disruptions of technology seem better at first but end up qualitatively worse.

  • proc03 hours ago
    It's interesting that the current AI revolution began with transformers that came out of Google who was trying to apply AI to search, and now that seems to be the an unpopular use for it. I think it's one of the better use cases for it. It's great at compressing knowledge and if it can search the web and summarize things I don't see much of a downside. As far as making a profit, I don't see why they wouldn't charge a small amount for it, and that way they're not shoving everyone to use it.
    • hulituan hour ago
      > It's interesting that the current AI revolution began with transformers that came out of Google who was trying to apply AI to search, and now that seems to be the an unpopular use for it.

      It is because it is crap. When i search for "Wombat" i want the animal or the program. Not a page containing the word. Not a squirrel that looks like a wombat.