Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Chatbots could one day replace search engines. Here's why that’s a terrible idea. Really!

This seems to be a nice non sequitur by the MIT Technology Review! Why chatbots would eventually replace search engines is doubtful!

Speaking is faster than typing! Thus a chatbot could help to speed up and improve our searches! E.g. a chatbot could make us immediately aware of ambiguities, alternatives, or other considerations etc. Or the chatbot can present us immediately with several relevant options or similar previous searches etc.

"Large AI models can simulate natural language with remarkable realism. Trained on hundreds of books and much of the internet, they absorb vast amounts of information.
 
There’s growing excitement in the tech sector that they might one day replace search engines. In theory we could simply ask a computer a question and it could return a bite-size answer. The trouble is, language models are mindless mimics. They do not understand what they are saying, and cannot reason about what their words convey.

Some researchers are concerned that chatbot search engines could worsen our existing lack of critical thinking around search results. A natural language answer can hide complexity behind a veneer of authority that is not deserved. Experts also fear that it could lead to more misinformation and more polarized debate." (Source)

Chatbots could one day replace search engines. Here's why that’s a terrible idea. | MIT Technology Review

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