Is Google signaling the end of the open web? That’s some of the concern raised by its new embrace of AI. While most of the fears about AI may be overblown, this one could be legit. But it doesn’t mean that we need to accept it.
These days, there is certainly a lot of hype and nonsense about artificial intelligence and the ways that it can impact all kinds of industries and businesses. Last week at Google IO, Google made it clear that they’re moving forward with what it calls “AI overviews,” in which Google’s own Gemini AI tech will try to generate answers at the top of search pages.
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Well said, and well put. Sometimes it feels a little lonely on Lemmy and the fediverse, but I feel good contributing to a decentralized web.
I see you! 😊👋
I agree with you for the most part, but you omitted the symbiotic (or even mutualistic) relationship users and platforms have. For example, Google provides a video platform, and user provide the videos. Such a transaction comes with a contract we all neglected to read, but accepted regardless. As far as the contract is concerned, both parties should be fine with this situation. Nobody is stealing anything.
Obviously, this situation has quite a few problems, and the Fediverse addresses many of them. However, self hosting text, audio and video doesn’t happen for free, just like Google can’t run their servers for free. Either you pay directly to the devs and admins, or you find other creative ways to make money flow. That’s where the Fediverse and commercial platforms differ greatly.
World’s most popular search engine, video platform, mobile OS, browser engine, email provider, map provider, shall I go on? Search results at this point are just becoming an astrix.
They’re trying to suck up and present as much data as possible so people never have to leave Google’s services. They want to be the internet. If you enabled people to be independent, private, decentralized, and open, then Google would be in trouble because suddenly individuals and communities would have all the power and data, not some corp that’s hellbent on wasting your lifespan and brain space with ads or whatever other garbage decision they make on Tuesday to make their line go up.
Use a different search engine? Use multiple search engines which tweak search parameters? SearXNG and others are the way forward
The interwebs existed long before Google. They will continue to exist long after Google.
the modern internet has existed without google much less than it has with google
Sucks. We’ll get over it
Don’t be so sure. Google has ridiculous power over the internet. Worst case we might have to create a new network. But I hope we will if it’s necessary.
Isn’t this what the new Freenet aims for? A truly decentralized, but not necessarily anonymous, network?
It works over Internet. It’s a platform for more dignified usage of it (decentralized applications with abilities similar to main abusive services).
The relatively new Nostr protocol is a very interesting decentralized option. It uses relay servers to provide a secure connection between two (or more) clients which maintain the data, nothing is “stored” on the relay.
