<\/p>\n ChatGPT sets Google\u2019s AI ambitions free<\/p>\n AI tools will increase the power of tech\u2019s incumbents<\/p>\n Google had already been experimenting<\/a> with chatbots, but was hesitant to release them to the world for fear of the public relations disaster that could follow from the responses they might output, and the scrutiny they would attract from regulators. Microsoft had seen that first hand when it released Tay in 2016, only for it to begin echoing<\/a> the Nazi and racist sentiments of those engaging with it in less than 24 hours. But once OpenAI deployed its \u201challucination\u201d machine, the guardrails were off.<\/p>\n Disconnect relies on the support of readers like you. Become a paid subscriber today!<\/p>\n For years, Google had been working to make itself less of a directory and more of a destination in its own right. It didn\u2019t just want to send people to different parts of the web; it wanted them to find the information they were looking for on Google itself. The goal was to get users to spend more time on Google\u2019s website and look at more of its ads, even if that meant they were less likely to visit the websites and news publishers that had come to rely on Google for significant shares of their traffic.<\/p>\n Long before Google introduced AI Overviews, it had added Featured Snippets to its search engine. Those snippets took sections from external websites and displayed them for the user, meaning they might get the answer they were looking for without having to leave Google. It was already a pain point for many publishers, but Overviews took that to the next level.<\/p>\n Instead of just pulling from one source, Google began pulling from many and using its AI tools to output a few paragraphs bringing together tidbits from each of them. Just ignore how the prevalence for the AI system to output false answers \u2014 or hallucinations, in industry speak \u2014 meant Google was generating millions of inaccurate Overviews<\/a> every hour. Its ambition was clear: it wanted more users to spend more time on Google and far less visiting other parts of the web.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Generative AI is a societal disaster<\/p>\n Governments are deluding themselves into believing investment justifies allowing AI to upend society<\/p>\n Publishers and website owners began warning of Google Zero as they saw their traffic plummet<\/a>, but Google didn\u2019t care. It was free to take the next step in destroying their businesses all to serve its own business goals. The company also didn\u2019t care that it was further decimating the kind of information environment a healthy democratic society needs, especially one flooded with AI-generated false information. It\u2019s also one you would imagine a search engine or chatbot that\u2019s supposed to be relaying accurate, up-to-date information relies on.<\/p>\n Google made its ambitions quite obvious<\/a> in its I\/O announcements in 2023. On Tuesday, it laid out the next stage of its plan. The company made it clear there will be no escape from its generative AI products as AI hype continues to grip Silicon Valley, despite public sentiment very clearly turning against it and the data centers needed to power it. Search is the center of Google\u2019s business and its power, and the company is taking a serious risk with the part of its business that drives more than half of its revenue.<\/p>\n While there will still be a box on google.com, it will no longer be a directory to the web. Now it will be the portal to Google\u2019s suite of services, but especially its various generative AI tools<\/a> it wants to force its users to become reliant on. In part that\u2019s to try to win the AI war against its competitors, but it\u2019s hard not to imagine it\u2019s also a play to build user dependency on generative AI before it has to further jack up its prices.<\/p>\n ChatGPT was never the major threat to Google\u2019s market share that some commentators claimed. In truth, there\u2019s no greater threat to Google\u2019s power and market share than Google itself. Every time Sundar Pichai reconfigures Google products to further force generative AI on users he assumes are hopelessly locked in, he increases the risk they finally throw up their hands and go somewhere else.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Getting off US tech: a guide<\/p>\n I\u2019m in the process of dropping US tech services. Here\u2019s how I did it, and options you should consider.<\/p>\n And that\u2019s exactly what Google users should do. There\u2019s no denying that some Google services are more difficult to replace than others \u2014 trust me, I\u2019ve been working on it \u2014 but for most of them, it\u2019s easier than you might expect. Sure, it will take some adjusting and there will be some moving pains, but unless you want to be forced into the Gemini lifestyle, it\u2019s time to make a plan to get off Google and start packing your virtual boxes for greener pastures.<\/p>\n As I mentioned, I\u2019ve been at this for a while \u2014 I wrote a whole guide to help people get off US tech<\/a>. I replaced Gmail with Proton Mail<\/a>, started using Qwant<\/a> to replace Search, dropped Chrome for Vivaldi<\/a>, experimented with Here WeGo<\/a> to replace Maps, and replaced a bunch more services with alternatives in the Proton suite<\/a>: Drive, Calendar, Pass, Authenticator, and most recently Meet. In short, deGoogling is possible if you\u2019re willing to put in the work and accept some compromises. I\u2019m not all the way there, but I\u2019ve made a good dent.<\/p>\n As Google continues to degrade its products in a bid to force us all to rely on Gemini, now is the time to make it feel the consequences of its attempt to strong arm its billions of users. ChatGPT didn\u2019t kill its business, but by acting collectively we can at least put a dent in its armor \u2014 if not do much more. It\u2019s worth a shot.<\/p>\n Disconnect relies on the support of readers like you. Become a paid subscriber today!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/a3\/8c\/a38c83f8-bcf7-4a9e-a1e8-14d4368e6b10\/content\/images\/thumbnail\/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2fe5d7526e-3a34-480c-aec6-884ddefeb105_1200x675-png-7901ff1a6e3d16d8e36f02975ab438e7e2566f0f756fa7d80999f41177dbf354.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
\n Become a subscriber
\n <\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/a3\/8c\/a38c83f8-bcf7-4a9e-a1e8-14d4368e6b10\/content\/images\/thumbnail\/4832622_5_articlelarge_IMG_2232-96e994dccc9ccb4e6b4508ff223fe93f76f6f1e497e37444ac653f6468c0a263.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/storage.ghost.io\/c\/a3\/8c\/a38c83f8-bcf7-4a9e-a1e8-14d4368e6b10\/content\/images\/thumbnail\/https-3a-2f-2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com-2fpublic-2fimages-2ffc13303f-7ff5-4ba8-861b-4dbfc452ce29_2400x1350-png-c6069bab30a6c70a2bae0f644029e143829212d585ed3dc12554cfafeb2e1f00.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n