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Why Is the Web So Monotonous? Google

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Re: Why Is the Web So Monotonous? Google

#131

Post by spullara »

soulofmischief wrote: post #128
spullara wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GPT-3 prompt: I really love the vibe of Koh Lanta in Thailand. It has tourist amenities without really being touristy. I find it charming, slow and cheap. Is there a place in Croatia like it? Completion: There is no exact place in Croatia that has the same vibe as Koh Lanta in Thailand. However, there are places in Croatia that have a similar charm and slower pace. These places include Hvar Island, Korcula Island, an…

The next problem is verifying all of that information. It will require multiple dozen auxillary Google searches and reading through countless articles and message boards. GPT-3 is a great research tool as a brainstorming engine, but sadly cannot currently be formally trusted to output truthful information, even with conditioning. It takes someone with prior knowledge or subsequent research in order to make use of the…

Even if you got the info straight from another human being I can't imagine anyone would take it at face value and just schedule their trip.

Re: Why Is the Web So Monotonous? Google

#132

Post by stevage »

throwaway539324 wrote: post #51

I was thinking about this recently, because at my business we're working on improving our SEO. The big problem is that Google is the major way people discover goods and services. If you have a site that sells garden hoses, the best way to get eyeballs is to write blog posts that a potential user of garden hoses might search for. "How to install a garden hose." "What is the best garden hose." This kind of content mark…

This is a good summary of the situation.

Re: Why Is the Web So Monotonous? Google

#133

Post by talivision »

spullara wrote: post #123
drivebycomment wrote: post #4

This is a clear demonstration of the user's expectation of search having exceeded what's possible today. From the article: > Lets look at some examples. One of my favorite places in the world is Koh Lanta, Thailand. When traveling, I’m always on the lookout for places that give off the Koh Lanta vibe. What does that mean? Hard to say, exactly, but having tourist amenities without being touristy. Charming, slow, cheap…

GPT-3 prompt: I really love the vibe of Koh Lanta in Thailand. It has tourist amenities without really being touristy. I find it charming, slow and cheap. Is there a place in Croatia like it? Completion: There is no exact place in Croatia that has the same vibe as Koh Lanta in Thailand. However, there are places in Croatia that have a similar charm and slower pace. These places include Hvar Island, Korcula Island, an…

Beat me to it, I got a very similar response by telling GPT-3 to behave as a 'highly advanced search engine'. It also went for Hvar and Korcula.

query: what is the koh lanta of croatia?

response:

Koh Lanta is an island in Thailand that's known for its beautiful beaches and clear waters. It's a popular destination for tourists, and it's also become a popular spot for digital nomads in recent years.

Croatia doesn't have an island that's quite like Koh Lanta, but there are a few options that come close. The island of Hvar is a good option, as it has beautiful beaches and a laid-back vibe. The island of Korcula is another option, and it's known for its medieval villages and stunning scenery.

Re: Why Is the Web So Monotonous? Google

#134

Post by krapp »

spullara wrote: post #123
drivebycomment wrote: post #4

This is a clear demonstration of the user's expectation of search having exceeded what's possible today. From the article: > Lets look at some examples. One of my favorite places in the world is Koh Lanta, Thailand. When traveling, I’m always on the lookout for places that give off the Koh Lanta vibe. What does that mean? Hard to say, exactly, but having tourist amenities without being touristy. Charming, slow, cheap…

GPT-3 prompt: I really love the vibe of Koh Lanta in Thailand. It has tourist amenities without really being touristy. I find it charming, slow and cheap. Is there a place in Croatia like it? Completion: There is no exact place in Croatia that has the same vibe as Koh Lanta in Thailand. However, there are places in Croatia that have a similar charm and slower pace. These places include Hvar Island, Korcula Island, an…

That proves GPT-3 is good at constructing sentences based on a prompt, not that it actually knows how to vibe-check tourist destinations.

Re: Why Is the Web So Monotonous? Google

#135

Post by xivzgrev »

“ For example, have you ever noticed that the main content of most websites is something like 70% down the page? Every recipe site I’ve ever seen is like this — nobody cares about how this recipe was originally your great-grandmother’”

If anyone is curious, this is at least part due to copyright law. A recipe is a set of facts, which is no copyrighted. But recipes with substantial literary expression (making it unique) can be copyrighted. Content creators don’t want their stuff copied so viola…that’s how you get a long winded story before the goods.

https://copyrightalliance.org/are-recipes-cookbooks-protecte....

Re: Why Is the Web So Monotonous? Google

#136

Post by nl »

shadowgovt wrote: post #78
Kye wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's some mix of people in here who weren't around for or forgot about when Google handled stuff like this brilliantly. In fact, one of the best ways to get search traffic was to write a quality article tackling questions like this. Google was thirsty for answers to the ever-growing number of queries it had never seen before and would shower traffic on anyone who answered them even if it was a bad answer. A good a…

I was there for it. It worked for a select group of toy problem domains and the answer for most high-concept searches would be noise or nothing. The author never manages to convince me that the information they're looking for is on the Internet for Google to index in the first place. The author then asserts "don't just hit me with garbage," which is a fine assertion, except what they're interpreting as 'garbage' is t…

I was there too and I agree with this take.

If this data is there now, it is most likely in a Facebook post which Google isn't seeing.

Re: Why Is the Web So Monotonous? Google

#137

Post by lethologica »

xivzgrev wrote: post #135

“ For example, have you ever noticed that the main content of most websites is something like 70% down the page? Every recipe site I’ve ever seen is like this — nobody cares about how this recipe was originally your great-grandmother’” If anyone is curious, this is at least part due to copyright law. A recipe is a set of facts, which is no copyrighted. But recipes with substantial literary expression (making it uniqu…

I always thought it was more for the SEO than the copyright.

Re: Why Is the Web So Monotonous? Google

#140

Post by capitalsigma »

saghm wrote: post #129
spullara wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

GPT-3 prompt: I really love the vibe of Koh Lanta in Thailand. It has tourist amenities without really being touristy. I find it charming, slow and cheap. Is there a place in Croatia like it? Completion: There is no exact place in Croatia that has the same vibe as Koh Lanta in Thailand. However, there are places in Croatia that have a similar charm and slower pace. These places include Hvar Island, Korcula Island, an…

I'd be super interested to see if these other places actually fit the descriptions it gives, or if it essentially just generated a likely pattern of text to be seen after the first part saying there's no exact match and then filled in random known Croatian location. I honestly don't have any intuition of which of those is more likely!

Hvar is filled with 25 year old tourists who drink a lot and maybe hope to get into modeling as a side hustle. It does not fit the prompt at all. Korchula is a slow, family oriented island. Maybe a better fit? But it really just seems like GPT has picked up on a list of the most popular destinations in Croatia.
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