Hacker News Reader

Comment by Karunamon | Hacker News Reader

It didn't require using Google, for one. That alone should be worth something.

Why exactly? Privacy? OpenAPI is currently experiencing the fastest- and by choice- absorption of personal and corporate data of any major tech company and so is rapidly growing materially useful and unique personal datasets of large swaths of the digital population. Sure it isn't emails or website visits...yet. Different from Google? Not really.

Significantly different. OpenAI isn't in the business of building a profile on you and using it to sell your attention to advertisers. The information they have is that which was public and that which was voluntarily provided. There is no privacy violation here, their core business is not at odds with privacy the way that Google is.

If you're not signed into Google, and use ad blockers etc, there's not a lot Google can do to violate your privacy.

> OpenAI isn't in the business of...

Stop! You're trying to describe what a closed company is in the business of.

As you said it: Google already does this too, so why not use something that, currently, has less SEO blogspam or ads?

Plus, even if it is just regurgitating top links, if is something you can ask a question and then go to another tab to do something for a minute and then come back and there is exactly what you asked. Ignoring ads, you still have to comb through so much text of information that is, at that time, uesless to your needs when you go to any of those top links.

Plus, GPT is likely pulling from multiple sources at once and VERY quickly.

I'm so confused by the people that keep arguing this about just using Google. It's clear why it is easier to use GPT. Is it always correct? No. But, are you certain the info on the site you just navigated to through Google search results is any more correct? If it is a topic you know nothing about them how would you be any wiser either way?

But it's a paid service requiring your phone number, vs free google search!

As I mentioned in another post, When I asked ChatGPT who the author of a particular published book from 2015 was, it confidently made up the author's name. Google correctly answered with the right author's name when asked the exact same question.

GPT doesn't have my trust, and I'm not sure why so many are throwing money, and their phone numbers, and their trust at ChatGPT.

You’re right that OpenAI does not deserve your trust. Nor does Google. But with both products you’re either paying with a subscription or paying with your data being leaked to advertisers (probably both).

What makes the OpenAI product so much better is an ability to maintain focus. Yes, it lies (or confabulates, hallucinates), but we’ve been seeing the same from Google Search results too for years now by it pushing sites that deliver more ads than content.

My phone number is known by so many companies. I really don't care about that. I just really find it interesting and it's very useful as a support with coding.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com