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EarlG

(23,421 posts)
5. It's weird how big corps think that slapping the word "AI" on everything means people won't notice their product is shit
Sun Jan 11, 2026, 10:42 AM
Jan 11

Google used to be the best search engine out there. Now it produces results that are frequently incorrect, and as seen in the article above, potentially life threatening. (And they haven't even started seeding these overviews with paid advertising yet, at which point the results will be even more worthless. Having heart palpitations? Let our AI explain to you in an extremely convincing voice why the best medicine is Coca-Cola.)

But because they slap the word "AI" on it, we're all supposed to thoughtfully stroke our chins and assume that "the future is here," and now all we have to do is wait for that future to truly arrive and unburden us from our daily grind. Meanwhile their products get worse and worse, electricity costs go up, the environment is further ruined, and billions upon billions of dollars disappear upwards into the pockets of the already mega-wealthy.

The sad part is that depending on what you use it for, machine learning can be extremely useful. But what the big corps are doing is throwing everything under the same "AI" umbrella, and forcing the tech to be used in situations where it is not useful, to do things it is not good at.

I wonder how long it will take before the majority of people associate the label "AI" with the thought, "shit, broken product, don't use it."

Recommendations

1 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

I find Google AI arrogant, inaccurate, argumentative bucolic_frolic Jan 11 #1
I agree completely with your comments at the end of the post RockCreek Jan 11 #2
A I is GIGO creon Jan 11 #3
Some. nt Javaman Jan 11 #4
It's weird how big corps think that slapping the word "AI" on everything means people won't notice their product is shit EarlG Jan 11 #5
I was amused to see the ".ai" internet suffix belonging to Anguilla as "valuable" since AI companies want it muriel_volestrangler Jan 11 #6
I agree that a lot of machine learning can be extremely useful. But I wouldn't include generative AI in highplainsdem Jan 11 #7
It's like when you see a bottled water labeled "Gluten Free!" ToxMarz Jan 11 #9
AND "Caffeine free" BumRushDaShow Jan 11 #12
Way back before Google BumRushDaShow Jan 11 #11
Where AI is perfectly suited is the modern day PT Barnum's ToxMarz Jan 11 #8
Don't get medical information from any internet search. I've seen more batshit crazy shite than minutes I have Raftergirl Jan 11 #10
Unfortunately, with access to doctors now being killed off due to a lack of health insurance thanks to the GOP BumRushDaShow Jan 11 #14
I've been having some back pain so I googled a question about whether a 15 year old hip replacement Vinca Jan 11 #13
The way these fancy search engines work... Pluvious Jan 11 #15
Just for grins, I submitted the reworded question to Gemini... Pluvious Jan 11 #16
Thanks for taking the time to do that. Vinca Jan 11 #17
My pleasure Vinca... Pluvious Jan 11 #18
just say an OLD hip replacement Skittles Jan 11 #19
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