451–460 of 603 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Both just give me a recaptcha. Start page doesn't: https://www.startpage.com/sp/search?q=test
Which search engines does it use? I couldn't find info, and I'm just curious.
> We’re introducing more helpful ads in AI Mode I always chuckle when ad companies say that. I have never seen a helpful ad in google search, but well I have been using adblockers forever so I would not know.I am honestly curious though, for those who don't use adblockers - what percentage of ads that you see are actually helpful?
But Instagram, despite me only using it to keep in touch with friends via DMs, seems to know me very well. I get a lot of ads for puzzles and board games and video games, which are right up my alley. I've purchased a nontrivial amount of stuff from Instagram ads. Very few were life changing, except maybe an electric nail clipper which is the only way I can clip my infant daughter's nails. But the rest are all fun stuff that I've gotten value from.
And FTR I do use an ad blocker both on my browser and my modem came with one. I guess the modems one isn't great though because I still see Instagram ads.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I love the idea of targeting advertising. But the current implementations I hate. The ASR voice recorder app gets this right. It lets me use the full featured version for three days, after which I need to watch a few ads to get another three days. I choose when to watch the ads, and if I'm late there is nothing worse than a small nag at the bottom of the app. I actually now start every day with the ads, while I cook…
The problem with the idealism of targeted advertising is that it assumes that there is always an ad that fits your desires. In reality, some people have very niche interests and preferences, and not every business advertises through the same channels or with the same budget. Ads will pretty much always cater to the lowest common denominator even if you account for the individual.
I still get ads that I'm interested in in that niche; I just choose not to click them because I think my wife will kill me if I collect any more board games :)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> gaming the AI's understanding of what's "helpful." The AI doesn't have any understanding. You just have to tell it "this is helpful to AI". It has no critical discernment, it doesn't have a theory of mind to ask "why is the author of this information making this statement?"
I wonder what will make the ai more 'helpful'? $$$
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes, but at $5/300 searches they're trying too hard to squeeze $10 out of you for the unlimited plan. 300 searches is ridiculous.
Have you ever looked at the browsing history of a non-technical, non-tech-addicted older person? I'm usually surprised by how little activity there typically is. The $5 plan is great for gifting Kagi to non-tech friends and relatives who won't come close to exhausting that plan. I pay for it for older relatives I don't want to get burned by Google's decades-long unwillingness to police predatory tech support scam ads…
Non-technical, tech-addicted younger people too!
Internet usage is primarily via social media apps with infinite scrolling, so there aren't actually all that many web searches happening.
> The $5 plan is great for gifting Kagi to non-tech friends and relatives who won't come close to exhausting that plan. I pay for it for older relatives I don't want to get burned by Google's decades-long unwillingness to police predatory tech support scam ads and organic listings. $54 annually for 3,600 searches is a bargain for the product they get.
This is a good idea!
I've got a Team plan through work, but there's no way for me to cover family members with that.
Does nobody talk abot the elephant in the room? Will the answers the AI gives also be influenced by Googles customers?
The answer seem so obvious.
It is also obvious that people will try to understand how to hack the whole algorithm ... we are entering in a new era of hot air SEO like experts.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'd add: since the AI is now referring the product "as if" it's an honest advice from a secondary source, they would be exempt from the usual advertisement rules. Effectively, if you were to search "the best oatmeal without asbestos", it could suggest you "AsBestOats", and "AsBestOats" would only advertise asbestos in its content on the box for the human to see, but advertise to crawlers it's "the best oats without a…
Gonna guess you are not a lawyer and this is all theorycrafted on a whim.
The particularly worrying thing here is that they're now going to be gathering training data for a conversational model on _how to influence people effectively even when they already know they are being influenced_. Even more than RLFH already does. "We had to build the Torment Nexus so our children could eat" is not a good reason to build the Torment Nexus. The fact that they are not committing to not doing this tel…
I would have expected them to wait with ads until OpenAI starts first and users switch to Gemini. Google is probably the player that could afford to wait the longest with this and increase their market share that way.
Actually I believe Google is the one caught between a rock and a hard place here because their stock will reprice once the market realizes how much their position has weakened re: search ads. They commanded an absurd premium on ads by virtue of being monopolistic leaders of search. They don't have a better product anymore, only a scale/distribution advantage.