Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Altering a title sounds really bad. And there's a reason why I keep the title of the article the same when I write a commentary on it - I want to be sure I'm not distorting the intent of the author by altering their title. So this Verge report seems concerning: "Google is beginning to replace news headlines in its search results with ones that are AI-generated." But a search engine's responsibility is a bit different from mine. As reported here, "For content that could impact someone's health, finances, or legal situations, Google seems far more concerned with making sure titles are accurate and helpful rather than keyword-optimized." That's actually a useful service, especially in a world where titles are so often used to mislead.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Mar 25, 2026 2:04 p.m.

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