Headline, February 06 2024/ ''' CHARTER GOOGLE'S CHUTZPAH '''

''' CHARTER GOOGLE'S

 CHUTZPAH '''

AN A.I. POWERED CHALLENGE FOR GOOGLE : '' PERPLEXITY is just so refreshingly good at admitting when it doesn't know the answer.

FOR MY ENTIRE adult life, whenever I've had a question about the world or needed to track down something on line, I've gone to Google for answers. But recently, I've been stepping out on Google with a new A.I. powered search engine.

It's called Perplexity. The year-old search engine, whose founders previously worked in A.I. research at Open A.I. and Meta, has quickly become one of the most buzzed-about products in the tech world.

Tech insiders rave about it on social media, and investors like Jeff Bezos - who was also an early investor in Google - have showered it with cash. 

The company recently announced that it had raised $74 million in a funding round led by Institutional Venture Partners, which valued the company at $520 million.

MANY START-UPS have tried and failed to challenge Google over the years. [One would-be competitor, Neeva, shut down last year failing to gain traction.]

But Google seems less invincible these days. Many users have complained that their Google search results have gotten clogged with spammy, low-quality websites, and some people have started looking for answers in places like Reddit and TikTok instead.

Intrigued by the hype, I recently spent several weeks using Perplexity as my default search engine on both desktop and mobile. 

I tested both the free version and the paid product, Perplexity Pro, which costs $20 per month and gives users access to more powerful A.I. models and certain features, such as the ability to upload their own files.

Hundreds of searches later, I can report that even though Perplexity isn't perfect, it's very good. And while I am not ready to break up with Google entirely, I'm now more convinced that A.I. powered search engines like Perplexity could loosen Google's grip on the search market, ot at least force it to play catch-up.

I'm also scared that A.I. search engines could destroy my job and that the entire digital media industry could collapse as a result of products like them. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

WHERE IT SHINES : At first glance, Perplexity's desktop interface looks a lot like Google's - a text box centered on a sparse landing page.

But as soon as you start typing, the differences become obvious. When you ask a question, Perplexity doesn't give you back a list of links. Instead, it scours the web for you and uses A.I. to write a summary of what it finds.

These answers are annotated with links to the sources the A.I. used, which also appears in a panel above the response.

I tested Perplexity on hundreds of queries, including questions about current events. [ '' How did Nikki Haley do in New Hampshire primary? '' ], shopping recommendations [ '' What's the best dog food for a senior dog with joint pain?" ] and household tasks [ '' Howlong does beef stew stay good in the fridge?'' ].

Each time I got back an A.I. generated response, generally a paragraph or two long, sprinkled with citations of websites like NPR, The New York Times and Reddit, along with a list of suggested follow-up questions I could ask, such as '' Can you freeze beef stew to make it last longer?''

One impressive Perplexity feature is  ''Copilot'', which helps a user narrow down a query by asking clarifying questions. When I asked for ideas on where to host a birthday party for a 3-year-old, for example, Copilot asked whether I wanted suggestions for outdoor spaces, indoor spaces or both.

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research on A.I. and Development, continues. The World Students Society thanks author Kevin Roose.

With most respectful and loving dedication to the Global Founder Framers of !WOW! - and then Students, Professors and Teachers of the world.

See You all prepare for Great Global Elections on The World Students Society - for every subject in the world : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter X !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

Good Night and God Bless

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