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Google don't mess around existential threats to their search business model. We're talking about the company who, when they saw the iPhone, recognized the mobi

Google don't mess around existential threats to their search business model. We're talking about the company who, when they saw the iPhone, recognized the mobile apps space as a threat to search (why search if they can open an app from a walled garden) and immediately went to work on Android, even if they were never in the phone business. They reacted faster and better than everyone else and the entire phone space as it was went bankrupt (Nokia, Blackberry, et al). I have no doubt in my mind Google have ChatGPT as a top priority threat, and they'll come up with something to counter it. And Google already invest heavily on AI, they're not completely offguard. If somehow someone invented a car, today, that could threaten ad search from Google, they'd be competing with Ford, GM etc in two years.

pier25 4y ago
> and immediately went to work on Android Google acquired Android in 2005, years before the iPhone was released.
- cmrdporcupine 4y ago
  Yes, and Google has had its own LLM conversational bot for years, before ChatGPT became a public phenomenon even. So, analogy holds.
- tablespoon 4y ago
  > Google acquired Android in 2005, years before the iPhone was released. IIRC: That "Android" was nothing like what we refer to as Android today. I believe it was aiming to be a common OS for digital cameras or something. The iPhone caused them to pivot the project hard in a different direction.
  - pier25 4y ago
    That happened before the Google Acquisition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)
andrewxdiamond 4y ago
I’ll counter that the Google that built the Android business is not the Google we have today. Google has been on the long tail of financialization for a long time. This is the first time they have had any serious threat (beyond legal) since the reigns were handed over. I don’t think Google has completely lost control to investors, but I suspect they don’t have the agility, focus, and risk tolerance they once had.

pier25 4y ago

> and immediately went to work on Android Google acquired Android in 2005, years before the iPhone was released.

cmrdporcupine 4y ago
Yes, and Google has had its own LLM conversational bot for years, before ChatGPT became a public phenomenon even. So, analogy holds.
tablespoon 4y ago
> Google acquired Android in 2005, years before the iPhone was released. IIRC: That "Android" was nothing like what we refer to as Android today. I believe it was aiming to be a common OS for digital cameras or something. The iPhone caused them to pivot the project hard in a different direction.
- pier25 4y ago
  That happened before the Google Acquisition. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)

andrewxdiamond 4y ago

I’ll counter that the Google that built the Android business is not the Google we have today. Google has been on the long tail of financialization for a long time. This is the first time they have had any serious threat (beyond legal) since the reigns were handed over. I don’t think Google has completely lost control to investors, but I suspect they don’t have the agility, focus, and risk tolerance they once had.