On February 8, Google did something surprising beyond its own: it caught up. The Big Tech giant has built a reputation for years by leading the game when it comes to search and advertising. While its competitors are trying to do all they can to threaten its dominance, nothing seems to be able to shake it off balance.
And then ChatGPT was born.
When the generalized AI chatbot was launched to the public in November 2022, it created a storm of debate and overreaction. People call it the end of higher education. Suddenly, job titles we once thought were safe from automation from content writers to even lawyers threatened to be replaced by AI. ChatGPT even passed the MBA and medical licensing exam.
When this happened, Microsoft was quick to make moves. In January 2023, Semafor report that the company is looking to invest about $10 billion in OpenAI, owner of ChatGPT. Meanwhile, the Chinese tech giant Baidu announced that they will develop and launch a ChatGPT clone called Ernie Bot, while Google said they will launch a chatbot of their own called Ernie Bot. Bard. However, both were defeated.
Microsoft has integrated ChatGPT into its web browser and Bing search engine, allowing users to ask questions like this.
Microsoft
Shortly after Semafor reported on their investment, Microsoft announced that they are integrating ChatGPT into the Bing search engine and Edge browser for test users. Now, instead of searching for, for example, the best 65-inch TV screens or the best restaurants for patrons in New York City, Bing gives you just a few recommendations—all without you clicking. on any link.
It was a big announcement for a number of reasons. Not only is Bing moving very quickly to integrate ChatGPT into its search engine, but for the first time ever, Microsoft has overtaken Google in a huge way. It is clear that Google is also completely shaken by these developments—the company’s management has stated “code red” after ChatGPT was launched and it also decided to roll out the answer to Bing’s update alarmingly fast.
Just a day after Microsoft’s announcement, Google responded by showing how Bard integrates with its search engine. Like Bing, Google’s AI-powered search engine will be able to quickly summarize information from other web pages without users needing to click on anything. In one example, it shows results for the query “What are the best constellations to search for when stargazing?” with chatbot-like feedback about possible constellations.
Google is planning to incorporate its Bard AI into search queries.
However, even this did not go smoothly for the search giant. Eagle-eyed viewer detected an error in the Google ad for Bard states that James Webb Space Telescope was the first person to photograph a planet outside our solar system (it wasn’t). This mistake appears to be the main reason Alphabet’s stock fell 8%, or about $100 billion in value, in just one day.
Here’s all that needs to be said: Nearly a decade after Facebook—and Silicon Valley in general—announced that they were moving away from the “move fast and break things” ethos, it looks like they’re back on track. right where they started. Only now have these companies been so big that the things they disrupt will have dire consequences for the rest of us.
Gary N. Smith, an economist and author of several books on AI including Distrust: Big Data, Data Torture, and Scientific Attacks, told The Daily Beast.
This kind of corporate FOMO is so intense that it can even cause a company like Google to make quick and arguably hasty decisions—especially given the fact that there are still so many dangers. behind new generation AIs like ChatGPT.
“The worrying thing is that if Google thinks they’re in an arms race, they may not be the regulator or nearly the ultimate regulator.“
— David Karpf, George Washington University
According to Smith, the fundamental problem with large language models (LLMs) like those used by ChatGPT is that these systems are not designed to actually understand the words they generate—it’s just plan to predict the next word in the given sentence. “They cannot distinguish fact from fiction because they have learned to write before they have learned to think,” he said.
Then there are issues around how people will learn to trust these chatbots the same way they trust Google. In Smith’s view, the biggest danger with these bots is not that they’re smarter than us, but that people will think they’re smarter than we are—which certainly the media, venture capitalists, and tech founders can’t help continues to hype creative AI beyond the proportions.
“LLMs should only be used in situations where the cost of making a mistake is small—like recommending a movie—but their magical power is sure to convince many people that LLM can be used in situations where which costs big mistakes, like hiring decisions, loan approvals, prison sentences, medical diagnoses, and military strategy,” Smith said.
We have seen this happen. AI has been time and again susceptible to bias, racism, and sexism due to the fact that it is often trained on biased data sets. This has led to cases where chatbots continue to be racist, to home mortgage bot rejects apps from people of color. Even though it’s been out for months, ChatGPT has proven to make racist and sexist reactions to remind to this day.
So what happens then when a general AI seemingly rushed to the production line is embedded in the world’s most popular search engine? That’s what David Karpf, an associate professor of communications and public relations at George Washington University, is deeply interested in. He is write about and research the impact of innovative AI. In his view, he’s having a “gut feeling” about the impact of general AI on search.
Karpf recalls the relative early days of search engine optimization, when websites and content farms were able to create articles with little effort to dominate search rankings for easy clicks. mouse and have advertising revenue. When Google noticed, it changed their algorithm and discouraged bad guys from creating crappy content. However, this may no longer be the case with the advent of ChatGPT.
“The worry is that if Google thinks they’re in an arms race, they might not be the regulator or nearly the ultimate regulator,” Karpf said. “They might not get on board and side with people’s search quality if what they’re really worried about is other companies catching up and digging into search.”
While there has been much talk about the potential of these technologies to become some sort of global disruptor, Karpf believes a lot of this talk is overblown – at least for some. certain industry. Talk about AI replacing jobs like lawyers and doctors may never come to fruition (although OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s bold statement that it will). However, jobs and industries that do not share the same institutional and organizational power are much more vulnerable.
“Industries that cannot defend themselves are precarious industries like freelancers who cannot organize defensively,” says Karpf. “Meanwhile, the biggest industries that already have institutional walls to protect themselves, will fend for themselves, and then consolidate [generative AI] to serve themselves.”
This means that, in general, the landscape of digital media — which is already extremely precarious because it is built on an unstable and porous foundation of algorithms and advertising dollars — will change forever. if Big Tech decides to use chatbot entirely for future world search. Businesses in the field of digital advertising from SEO, affiliate marketing, content marketing will have to change. Even the big names from buzz feedARRIVE New York TimesARRIVE washington articlesARRIVE sport stoolsand even the website you are reading this article on has been tied to the yoke of Big Tech algorithms for over a decade now.
Before long, we could all find ourselves in a position where the very company that helped build these empires—and in the process changed the face of the Internet forever—could be they collapse.
