There was a time when online search was exciting. It was a great way to learn and explore the internet. History tells us that every technology has its time of relevance. Technological shifts drive progress, and it’s applicable everywhere.
The existing tech stacks we have are merely upgrades of previous inventions. Many would say AI is the future, but I think AI will not be seen as a futuristic technology in the time ahead.
Intelligence and Emotions are the best things that ever happened to us. Instead of cultivating the brain, the most efforts are into shutting down the holistic learning process.
AI FOMO
The AI FOMO is making the industry lose its mind. Corporations are integrating AI without evaluating the effect on the quality of products and services. The online search industry appears to be the first to see mass AI implementation.
Technology sector itself is still exploring the scope and benefits of AI. Possibly, corporations are rolling out AI features without having a long-term vision or thinking about the pros and cons.
You don’t expect the government to be proactive on such issues, remember still there is no clear policy on Cryptocurrency after so many years. Tech sector has to consider all aspects for the global good.
Leaders of the 20th were logical; At least they didn’t install nuclear reactor instead of the engine because it was energy efficient. Techies have replaced conventional scientists and strategic think tanks, the tech leadership is taking everyone somewhere (hopefully somewhere good!), and the governments have no clue about it.
Probability: In politics, there are two types of Artificial Intelligence: Rightist AI and Leftist AI, and they are very busy with intellectual discussions.
Now, the question is – why would the tech industry indulge in this game?
Tech evolution thrives on A/B testing. Previously, this approach has helped corporations to upgrade and expand rapidly. This time also, the industry is hoping to reach somewhere after the AI upgrade.
AI is a pandemic; it has infected all sectors across the globe. The only difference between a nuclear experiment and AI is that a nuclear physicist would know the experiment and the expected outcome.
AI and Online Search
Let’s understand the impact of AI through online search industry experiments. We see prominent search engines have integrated Generative AI algorithms that are now affecting the conventional use case of online search.
Conventional search engines used to be a bridge between the user and the source (websites). Search Engines help find the most relevant sources according to search inputs, and direct users to the source. The idea was to take users out of search engine result pages quickly.
GenerativeAI integration works exactly the opposite. Search Engines want users to stay only on Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs) and find answers to all queries without clicking any sources.
GenerativeAI generates results based on available resources, the information available on billions of web pages submitted to search engines.
There are chances that GenerativeAI could use your website content to answer search queries without passing any benefit to the domain. Another aspect is how much information you are giving to the GenerativeAI platform could be a ranking factor.
For example, community websites with millions of users could rank high even if the search query is irrelevant. Developer community websites, Q&A forums, knowledge base platforms, etc. Large data fuels GenerativeAI, so large informative websites are dear to AI tools, hence they get preferential treatments. There is no way an average commercial website could compete with online community platforms.
This can also incur loss of revenue for media as the information based journalism will be replaced by GenerativeAI tools.
Endgame Online Search
After thorough analysis, you can see the conventional search is simply shifting to the Generative AI tool. In later upgrades, Generative AI platforms will produce video outputs to answer user queries.
Content made by creators on video streaming platforms will be used as the source to produce GenerativeAI video output. The creators should not expect any benefit because the users will never open the creator channel. After all, the tools can produce similar results.
Since there are no benefits, the webmasters and content creators will stop submitting content to web and video search engines. Without fresh content the GenerativeAI tools cannot function, hence the end user will not get good quality output.
Here, it is important to note that the whole Ad business revolves around organic search output. People do not visit search engines or Generative AI tools just to watch Ads.
After impacting millions of businesses during AI experiments, search engines could also have troubles generating revenues. The experiment will not deliver good results for either side. Therefore, Search Engine should have long-term strategies to build a better environment for all businesses. There is ample time to fix the issue.
AI is Mind Killer
Generative AI can curb learning capabilities of children and young individuals. AI is creating low IQ youth. Youth really do not have learning curiosity because everything is available on free AI tools, so they get things done bypassing the learning process.
Why would anyone make an effort to learn when they know things are few clicks away! A generation dependent on AI tools is vulnerable to exploitation that creates a great national security threat!
I have tried to explain things to eliminate the potential catastrophe. Optimistic approach to the situation definitely helps to build a better future for all countries.