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Category Archives: E-Mail

Here’s why AI search engines really can’t kill Google

The Verge: “AI is coming for the search business. Or so we’re told. As Google seems to keep getting worse, and tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot seem to keep getting better, we appear to be barreling toward a new way to find and consume information online. Companies like Perplexity and You.com are pitching themselves as next-gen search products, and even Google and Bing are making huge bets that AI is the future of search. Bye bye, 10 blue links; hello direct answers to all my weird questions about the world. But the thing you have to understand about a search engine is that a search engine is many things. For all the people using Google to find important and hard-to-access scientific information, orders of magnitude more are using it to find their email inbox, get to Walmart’s website, or remember who was president before Hoover. And then there’s my favorite fact of all: that a vast number of people every year go to Google and type “google” into the search box. We mostly talk about Google as a research tool, but in reality, it’s asked to do anything and everything you can think of, billions of times a day. The real question in front of all these would-be Google killers, then, is not how well they can find information. It’s how well they can do everything Google does. So I decided to put some of the best new AI products to the real test: I grabbed the latest list of most-Googled queries and questions according to the SEO research firm Ahrefs and plugged them into various AI tools. In some instances, I found that these language model-based bots are genuinely more useful than a page of Google results. But in most cases, I discovered exactly how hard it will be for anything — AI or otherwise — to replace Google at the center of the web…”

Privacy First and Competition

EFF- Cory Doctorow: “Privacy First” is a simple, powerful idea: seeing as so many of today’s technological problems are also privacy problems, why don’t we fix privacy first? Whether you’re worried about kids’ mental health, or tech’s relationship to journalism, or spying by foreign adversaries, or reproductive rights, or AI deepfakes, or nonconsensual pornography, you’re… Continue Reading

The Best VPNs to Protect Yourself Online

Wired – “It won’t solve all of your privacy problems, but a virtual private network can make you a less tempting target for hackers. A virtual private network (VPN) is like a protective tunnel you can use to pass through a public network, protecting your data from outside eyes. Whether you’re worried about hiding your… Continue Reading

The Slack generation can’t communicate with the email generation

Fast Company – Why more platforms are dividing the workplace – “Workplace miscommunication and conflict are on the rise, as work becomes more decentralized and multigenerational. Should you leave important information in a voicemail to a colleague? Should you pick up a phone call from your boss after hours? How do you determine what rises to… Continue Reading

How to Keep Your Loved Ones Safe From Financial Scams

Wired: “…So what can we do to help our elderly and vulnerable, who are the targets of scams and morally dubious business practices? I spoke with Genevieve Waterman from the National Council on Aging (NCOA), an expert on financial education among older adults. She was quick to point out that pushy salespeople often use the… Continue Reading

Google’s Location Data Policy Update

EPIC: “In December 2023, Google announced an update to its location data policy to provide users with more control over their sensitive location information. While this seems like a promising step in the right direction, we should be mindful of Google’s long history of failing to uphold its privacy obligations and vigilant in monitoring Google’s… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, January 13, 2024

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, January 13, 2024 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, January 6, 2024

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, January 6, 2024– Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and… Continue Reading

Thomas privately pushed for a higher salary and to allow Supreme Court justices to take speaking fees

PrpPublica: “In early January 2000, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was at a five-star beach resort in Sea Island, Georgia, hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. After almost a decade on the court, Thomas had grown frustrated with his financial situation, according to friends. He had recently started raising his young grandnephew, and Thomas’… Continue Reading