Stephen Downes

We may as well start here, so people can't say we're just imagining a worst-case scenario. From the searchbot's mouth: "Google is introducing new ad formats built with Gemini in Search and expanding the Direct Offers pilot for shoppers." I can't tell you how little I want that, especially given that advertising is the original fake news. I personally use Kagi when I search the web, but by far the majority of what I find comes from networks of connections. How bad is the news? Even Business Insider is saying Google is going to ruin the internet. Pundits are saying Google has "declared war on the remnants of the Web." Now let me be clear: the problem isn't the AI, it's the advertising (and hence, deliberately introduced falsehoods).