searching a specific problem, on what search engine it is…
no satisfactory answer. what else is there? other than just asking questions on lemmy?
searching a specific problem, on what search engine it is…
no satisfactory answer. what else is there? other than just asking questions on lemmy?
Search is not an easy service. The non-AI search relied on server farms, indexing what is on the internet, and pointing you at what just likely is the answer. There was a sweet spot somewhere between maybe 2005 and 2015 when Google search was fantastic. With the data it knows about you it got you there maybe 19 out 20 searches.
And then things started happening. Google realised that they could sell more ads if their results were a little more shit and they required you to do more searches or click thru more results pages. At the same time, the content of stuff on the internet may have also reached a point where the idea of indexing everything started reaching its practical limits. And the longer time has elapsed since the graphical internet came about, the more deadwood has accumulated. Websites built in ancient days, now unmaintained, services that ended, expired licenses and certificates, etc. The answer you’re looking for may have been out there but for one reason or another can no longer be retrieved.
That’s all before the slop tsunami hit. And this food of content makes it harder still.
So-called AI is technology that’s being beta tested on everybody. I’m sure it’s getting better. At the same time there are plenty of valid reasons to look at it with suspicion. The bullshit it has made up, the additional environmental impact, the stealing of training data, etc. There is every chance that sAIrch will be better in the future than the sweet spot search of the recent past. But we’re not there yet in my opinion. We’re in the in-between time and we just have to muddle thru.
Google is betting big on this prospect. It’s self serving for them because they can downgrade their massive indexing operation and/or free up computing resources for other tasks. So I’m not sure if they’re more driven by financial motivations or conviction in the idea. Too early to tell. Nobody in the late 90s saw Google coming and eating everybody’s lunch in the search market. There is also a chance that a new company we haven’t heard from yet is waiting in the wings.
Ya I agree. It def went to shit even before AI. Sponsored results pushed more and more, and SEO slop abusing googles mechanics took over. Adding forum to the search became the only way to get anything because websites were trying to maximize time on page without even offering an answer. Eventually as the internet shrank and forums started dying out ‘Reddit’ was a good addition to a search, but that has since gone to shit too. It’s like a library of Alexandria has become a library of babel. Information is being gated and incredibly difficult to search for. I downloaded Wikipedia the other day because it’s starting to feel more inportant to have local access to information, but it only goes so far.