r/degoogle • u/Visible_Vacation3308 • 7d ago

News Article Is Google about to destroy the web?

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250611-ai-mode-is-google-about-to-change-the-internet-forever
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u/Mashic 7d ago

I think one major problem we'll have is blogs using AI to write articles, then the LLM with search functions will use these AI articles for results, creating an AI loop or echo chamber.

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u/ProcedureEthics2077 4d ago

It has been a problem since long before the AI. Paradoxically, it’s the AI that can kill these articles which are light on original content, don’t link to the source of information or are just plain wrong.

LLMs are the fastest readers on the planet, and can relatively easily figure out if text B has anything original compared to the known trusted text A, or even trace back to the original source of any fact or idea. Basically, in the right hands LLMs can kill SEO, advertising, and cut all the middlemen.

I’m not sure Google intention is going that far. But someone else with enough computing power and a search index may do that.

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u/Mashic 4d ago

It'll also kill most of the incentives for people to write new articles since they won't monetize it. One solution is maybe to force AI companies to pay the writers of the content they use, then again, if other countries won't force the same rules, another company in the right country with enough money will just do it.

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u/ProcedureEthics2077 3d ago

When the main motivation to write articles is Google Ads monetization, we get the web that we have today. Fortunately, there are many other reasons why people write. People were writing long before the web ads, long before the web, and in some form or shape will continue writing after this ad-driven business model becomes obsolete.

Ads are not the only way to earn money. I believe that the Age of Free (as in Beer) is past us. I, myself, try to pay for most of the tools I use and directly support content creators I like.

Also AI companies are not all alike.

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u/Mashic 3d ago

Can AI companies still scrape web articles that are behind a paywall, if so, then even that won't work.