![71. The Degraded Search Engine [Mini Fantasy Theater]](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/7a8981ff-414f-4764-bcce-3d42c7c83b89.png){kind=link}
David Revoy | Mastodon | Bonus Timelapse
Transcript
The Degraded Search Engine
A comic in four panels:
Panel 1. Cepper, the gothic sorceress, walks toward a large steampunk machine in the center of the library written “Gooblin” on it, colored letters. The machine resembles a rusty block, with a threadmill on one side, a seat and a typewriter-style keyboard.
Cepper: “A good old ‘search engine’, this is what I need for my research!”
Panel 2. Close up, Cepper types on the typewriter keyboard, looking at the screen.
Cepper: “R.I.N.G. O.F. F.I.R.E S.P.E.L.L.S. enter”
Cepper: “…And voilà.”
Panel 3. The machine spits out dozens of scrolls and books. Cepper reads them.
Cepper: “Wait… Why are these results so bad?..”
Book 1: “(Ad) Ten Fire Spells That Will Change Your Life (You Won’t Believe the 7th!)”
Book 2: “(Sponsored) 15 Spicy Onion Ring Recipes”
Book 3: “(For you) Top 5 Best Engagement Rings”
Book 4: “(ad) How to Start a Campfire: A Comprehensive Guide”
Book 5: “Is Your Fire Spell Not Working? (Try This One Simple Trick!)”
Book 6: “(Sponsored) Cheap Fire-Resistant Panties! (50% Off Today Only!)”
Panel 4. A librarian approaches, their AI Parrot perched on their shoulder, pointing it. Cepper looks defeated, her eyes blasé.
Librarian: “Yeah, they tuned it this way so everyone just uses their Avian Intelligence for searching now…” Cepper: “…How unsurprising.”
People often say “search engines are getting worse.” But I think they’re missing the problem with that. The Internet’s content on average is getting worse. Search engines (correctly) prefer more recent content, but if all content internet-wide is getting worse, the engine will give you worse results.
I think the best content on the Internet hasn’t gotten worse, but there is so much trash now so the average got dragged down.
Search engines are supposed to find the best content for us but have failed miserably as of late.
You can just add before:2020 to try to sidestep the recent flood of LLM crap.
You can actually go as far as 2022 if you’re okay with a little easily spotted AI in the search. It was 2023 when LLMs really took off, but if you want to be certain then use 2020.
It’s both though. Entshittification of search engines and internet content is a symbiotic process.
I don’t think that is true. For example, when it comes to cooking, I know a few hand-made non-seo pages that I frequent that have a nice selection and presentation of recipes. Those never come up in the search results, only the shit sites.
Would you need ok to share the links ?
As you said all the cooking results in search engines are awful and mostly AI generated.
They are worse though for power user types. They do shit like omit “of” in “Ring of Fire Spells” because it seems it as meaningless but people who use search like it’s a computer instead of “Dear Gooblin pwees five me spells for rings made of fire” and get all generic and shit, it sucks.
Because power user types are precise in their search, and search engines are increasingly stripping that precision for stupid reasons.