3 ms·

> I have to imagine the growth of large language models is only going to amplify this practice dramatically. Funny enough, LLMs are actually for the very first

by mrtksn 3y ago

> I have to imagine the growth of large language models is only going to amplify this practice dramatically. Funny enough, LLMs are actually for the very first time challenging Google’s utility as a knowledge engine. I see more and more Non-techie people asking ChatGPT about receptors or locations instead of Google. Also, if there’s anything that I need to research and it’s not a general knowledge stuff but something like “How long I can travel with a EU registered car in Turkey” I will use Bing Chat, Perplexity or ChatGPT. I gave up Google already, it’s just too much spam and low quality content that I have enough incentive to break my usual workflow and habits and try LLMs. I’m sure Google is doing great monetarily with search as if everything is garbage Ads are quality content but the technology to bypass both the ads and garbage is here.

TerrifiedMouse 3y ago
Will it last though. How soon until LLMs get gamed as well - probably directly, e.g. looking for a product that can do X, SEOs battle it out to make sure a specific product gets suggested by the LLM. There are many problems with LLMs as knowledge engines, - as mentioned they can be gamed just like Google - they hallucinate, adding another possible source of errors to the results - they kill off the websites they scrap training data from making it unsustainable long term
- mrtksn 3y ago
  I guess we can enjoy it as it lasts. Maybe if the LLM business model sticks with the paid subscription, then LLMs being on the user's side would try hard to provide high quality output. I don't think that Google has any incentive to do so, the shittier the organic content the more relevant the paid content as long as the users keep coming. As for the content providers, maybe they can once again do it without expectations of direct compensation. Maybe a content about Kazakhstan could be created by people who feel patriotic about the country and write about it because they would like foreigners know about their country. The degradation of quality can be attributed to Google but it's not only Google's part. The content went to the gutter when professionals entered the space and optimised for the business model that puts eyeballs above anything. Lack of such a revenue might actually be therapeutic.

by mrtksn 3y ago

TerrifiedMouse 3y ago

Will it last though. How soon until LLMs get gamed as well - probably directly, e.g. looking for a product that can do X, SEOs battle it out to make sure a specific product gets suggested by the LLM. There are many problems with LLMs as knowledge engines, - as mentioned they can be gamed just like Google - they hallucinate, adding another possible source of errors to the results - they kill off the websites they scrap training data from making it unsustainable long term

mrtksn 3y ago
I guess we can enjoy it as it lasts. Maybe if the LLM business model sticks with the paid subscription, then LLMs being on the user's side would try hard to provide high quality output. I don't think that Google has any incentive to do so, the shittier the organic content the more relevant the paid content as long as the users keep coming. As for the content providers, maybe they can once again do it without expectations of direct compensation. Maybe a content about Kazakhstan could be created by people who feel patriotic about the country and write about it because they would like foreigners know about their country. The degradation of quality can be attributed to Google but it's not only Google's part. The content went to the gutter when professionals entered the space and optimised for the business model that puts eyeballs above anything. Lack of such a revenue might actually be therapeutic.