Search is dead – long live curation (2024) (www.coryd.dev)

Google has signaled a pivotal shift away from traditional web search towards an AI-driven model, raising significant concerns within the AI/ML community about the implications for information reliability and user trust. As the company reframes its focus, the effectiveness of digital distribution infrastructure is deteriorating, alienating both publishers and users who are overwhelmed by misinformation and AI-generated content. This transition signals a move from querying an address bar to seeking specific URLs, prompting users to rely more on curated information rather than potentially misleading automated responses. The rising prominence of AI in search technology poses critical challenges, particularly as users may be hesitant to accept AI-generated answers without the expertise and accountability typically associated with human-generated content. The call for more curation suggests a return to trusted sources instead of generalized AI outputs, raising questions about the future role of search engines. As Google prioritizes AI models over conventional search methods, the need for digital literacy and source verification becomes increasingly urgent, underscoring a potential crisis of confidence in the tools meant to connect us with reliable information.