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Google's new AI mode is good, actually

(simonwillison.net)
129 points xnx | 11 comments | 07 Sep 25 14:43 UTC | HN request time: 0.5s | source | bottom
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xnx ◴[07 Sep 25 15:49 UTC] No.45159230[source]▶
My main takeaway is that Google's AI efforts are still playing catch-up in the mindshare race even if they've long since caught up with or surpassed OpenAI technically. A huge number of people who are heavy users of ChatGPT or Claude may have never tried Gemini.
replies(4): >>45159445 #>>45160347 #>>45162154 #>>45171477 #
1. jacquesm ◴[07 Sep 25 16:09 UTC] No.45159445[source]▶
A huge number of people that use Google Docs and other products daily are trying really hard to avoid using it in spite of it being rammed down their throats to the point that leaving Google starts to look like a viable option. Oh, and of course you do pay for it even if you don't use it and never plan to use it.
replies(2): >>45160067 #>>45162180 #
2. Kwpolska ◴[07 Sep 25 17:14 UTC] No.45160067[source]▶
Yeah, I changed my primary search engine to DuckDuckGo when Google started forcing incorrect AI results down my throat.
replies(2): >>45162156 #>>45162509 #
3. watwut ◴[07 Sep 25 21:07 UTC] No.45162156[source]▶
I chanted it when I realized that bad search results were not a lost fight against SEO, but intention. That made me try other search engines ... and both bing and duckduckgo are better.
4. jacquesm ◴[07 Sep 25 21:22 UTC] No.45162281[source]▶
I just want to be able to decide where when and how I use particular tools. I don't think 'left leaning' has anything to do with it, and I find this a weird connection to make.

If it serves as proof that that is not relevant I am purely thinking about this in a professional context, not in a private one.

5. busymom0 ◴[07 Sep 25 21:51 UTC] No.45162509[source]▶
I have Userscripts setup to hide the AI mode buttons and other AI results.
replies(1): >>45162613 #
6. jacquesm ◴[07 Sep 25 22:04 UTC] No.45162613{3}[source]▶
Also in Google docs, gmail and so on?
replies(1): >>45162632 #
7. busymom0 ◴[07 Sep 25 22:07 UTC] No.45162632{4}[source]▶
I don't use those on my computer, so I guess I haven't run into it there. My setup is mostly for Google search and YouTube on both mobile safari and macOS Safari. For YouTube, I have hidden the shorts, community posts and any videos with less than 1000 views (almost always AI generated slop).
replies(1): >>45162910 #
8. xnx ◴[07 Sep 25 22:16 UTC] No.45162675[source]▶
It's the contemporary "I don't even own a TV"
9. jacquesm ◴[07 Sep 25 22:49 UTC] No.45162910{5}[source]▶
Good stuff. If you are sharing it anywhere a pointer would be appreciated. I've already done as much as I can without spending a week hacking up scripts and I'm game for anything that will improve this further.
10. nerpderp82 ◴[08 Sep 25 01:41 UTC] No.45163983[source]▶
> cultural purity test among left-leaning people

Calm down with taking the rhetoric to 11, and don't project some sort of simple left/right numberline on this.

replies(1): >>45164446 #
11. ukblewis ◴[08 Sep 25 03:40 UTC] No.45164446{3}[source]▶
Sometimes a little personal experience-based clearly anecdotal talk is okay. Hacker News isn’t some scientific journal, and yes, I too know one leftie in my circle that hates AI models and zero right wingers who feel that way… Do you have any anecdotal evidence to the contrary?