Julian Oliver

We knew this was coming. Probably the move that will begin the end of traditional search for all but the staunchest alternatives, & hyper-normalise 'AI' at scale.

With the exception of those few countries that cannot reach such services, it will make 'AI' endemic, & give these tech oligarchs profound control.

https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-ai-search-box-with-agents-more-upgrades/

One of those days where once again I have to recommit to keep up the fight, and not pivot to making longbows, growing artisanal potatoes, Or similar.

Google's new AI Search box is here - along with agents and 5 more upgrades

Google now has information agents that work in the background and agentic coding tools that let you build apps directly in Search.

ZDNET
May 20 at 5:33amWeb
Show threadJulian OliverMay 20

Roman Empire feelings, sun never sets sort of thing. It's more than 'digital imperialism'. This is cognitive, cultural and ontological - at the hand of white, anglo-centric, US mega corporations, their interests and agendas.

To use is to support.

Show threadJulian OliverMay 20

The 3D's:

Depopulate.
Defund.
Disempower.

Hope, but only in action.
Captive and hopeless without.

Show threadJulian OliverMay 20
How do we make "Friends don't let friends get bot-brained by mega corporations, lest of all those in service to fascist regimes" a little more catchy
Show threadJulian OliverMay 22

Tbh I do confess some dread in the coming months of the window shifting for hundreds of millions of people, an unspoken normalisation of 'we're all using AI now'. It is not unlikely we soon see 'AI' as a term seeing less use, that these software products have such reach, ubiquity and dependence, it's just 'how we do computers now'.

Making chatbots search, gradually fading out traditional search, is for sure a smartphone scale market maneuver.

Show threadChristoff, the human May 22

@JulianOliver def pod people, but grateful the younger folks are like "naw, we're good" - it's being forced on all of us by billionaires and government. Pretty difficult to battle for livelihood if already career-established :(

I'm killing it with LLMs and junk for augmentation (I won't support replacement), just burnt out and I was interested somewhat.

Show threadMario Breskic6d ago
@christoff @JulianOliver Here is what I believe: older gens use AI to patch up their own shortcomings, their incompetence (real and imagined), and their shadow skills (as in shadow artist, after Cameron). Basically: unc.
Show threadCasdeiroMay 20
@JulianOliver Maybe it's time for good old human-curated directories like DMOZ to come out of their graves?
Show threadScott Murray May 20

@JulianOliver hmm I love this

“Think freely”

“Free your mind”

“Right to think for myself”

“Decolonize your mind”

“Reclaim your brain”

“Mind your OWN business” (nah)

I’ll keep thinking on this

Show threadMark GjølMay 20
@JulianOliver And, if those fail, Disembowel.
Show threadJulian OliverMay 20
@Gjoel Word. I'll take an extra dimension to get it done.
Show threadbronsenMay 20
@Gjoel @JulianOliver Some peoples have had success with Decapitation also 
Show threadthemadhatterMay 20
@JulianOliver agree. Unfortunately most search alternatives rely also on google, bing search indices afaik. We're trapped.
Show threadJevon Wright 💙💛May 20
@themadhatter @JulianOliver check out @Mojeek !
Show threadHoldMyTypeMay 20
@JulianOliver I d much rather be un-academic than refer to manipulated knowledge
Show threadgahlordMay 20
@JulianOliver that feature to let AI book local businesses is going to be worse than Groupon was to small loval businesses.
Show threadJulian OliverMay 20

@gahlord 100%. Google will be King/Queen maker, taking money for discovery on the back of the myth of The All Seeing and Knowing machine.

I hope folk grasp how this is so different from mere page ranking bias and ads. It's a new level of power.

Show threadgahlordMay 20
@JulianOliver But first they are going to flood businesses with reservations that don’t show up, orders that are wrong, promise prices that are wrong, place orders on days the business os closed, etc. It’s going to be a nightmare.
Show threadgahlordMay 20
@JulianOliver
Show threadTiota SramMay 20

@JulianOliver what a breathlessly pandering article. This quote made me laugh:

"""
Instead of typing "best portable Bluetooth speaker waterproof Alexa," I could ask something closer to how I would ask a person: "I want a portable Bluetooth speaker to take out by the pool. It'd be nice if it were waterproof and supported Alexa. Which ones are worth buying?"
"""

That's... Literally going backwards in terms of a user interface.

Show threadAdrian May 22

Commiting to keep up the fight and making longbows are not necessarily excluding each other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2v3_jHrvBQ

Also, what Malm said.

@JulianOliver

Woman At War - Official Trailer

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