In the past 2+ decades, we’ve witnessed the media landscape morph before our eyes. It started with the dematerialization of print and other tangible media, then continued with the unbundling of articles from newspapers, songs from albums and videos from cable networks. Yet, just as the industry seemed to have figured it out, AI language models now stand ready to trigger yet another seismic shift.

The spotlight has shifted from search engines to conversational AI systems, prompting us to wonder: Are we on the brink of a ‘No-Web’ reality? A future governed by chat-oriented interfaces that disintegrate the “blue link” and with it, the current ad-based publishing business model we’ve grown to know and (perhaps not) love.

As we watch the scale tip between old-school search and the AI-fueled chat revolution, a set of questions arise: What are the risks and opportunities that lie ahead for publishers? Will they be able to acclimate to this brave new world? Can they find new ways to monetize content as the old regime falls apart? And will this storm extend beyond publishing, affecting other web-based services?

I remember watching an old interview with one of Google co-founders who said that having many search results was "a bug, not a feature" and that in the future you should only be finding that one best result.

The following submission statement was provided by /u/dogonix:

In the past 2+ decades, we’ve witnessed the media landscape morph before our eyes. It started with the dematerialization of print and other tangible media, then continued with the unbundling of articles from newspapers, songs from albums and videos from cable networks. Yet, just as the industry seemed to have figured it out, AI language models now stand ready to trigger yet another seismic shift.

The spotlight has shifted from search engines to conversational AI systems, prompting us to wonder: Are we on the brink of a ‘No-Web’ reality? A future governed by chat-oriented interfaces that disintegrate the “blue link” and with it, the current ad-based publishing business model we’ve grown to know and (perhaps not) love.

As we watch the scale tip between old-school search and the AI-fueled chat revolution, a set of questions arise: What are the risks and opportunities that lie ahead for publishers? Will they be able to acclimate to this brave new world? Can they find new ways to monetize content as the old regime falls apart? And will this storm extend beyond publishing, affecting other web-based services?

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/11snygx/noweb_the_inevitable_future_of_digital_content/jcenrp0/

arent most web searches for pornography? how well does chat gpt fulfill those?

Really puts into context why Google was scrambling to get its own AI out after ChatGPT.

Also I don't necessarily agree with that. You don't always want to see one result, or you don't always find what you wanted in its entirety from one link only.

A future governed by chat-oriented interfaces that disintegrate the “blue link” and with it, the current ad-based publishing business model we’ve grown to know and (perhaps not) love.

1. Enters ChatGPT prompt.
2. HERE'S A POP-UP AD
3. Here's your answer.

Advertising/money killed (is killing?) the internet. Advertising/money will kill "No-Web" / chat-gpt.

Early search had few ad's, but showed all kinds of odd content that wasn't always relevant.

Google stepped up the game by simplifying things, making things very fast, and having minimal ads.

Google (and other search) then added in location aware algorithms allowing for more curated searches. This was good. A search of "new restaurants" is crap if it's returning stuff from 1,000+ miles/kilometers away when you just wanted to try some new local restaurants.

Advertising/Marketing industries realized that they could better advertise with more specific ads towards their customers by knowing things about you. Advertisers/Marketers wouldn't have to pay for ads for makeup for those who don't wear it ... or sports stuff for those who don't like sports ... or kids toys/clothing for those without kids, etc. On it's own, this wasn't actually a bad thing. But all new technologies also come along with new ways to abuse the system. Advertisers/Marketing saw huge profits, google got more profits, the cycle of greed was in full swing.

Modern google is a mess. Ads are everywhere. Results trying to guess what I want - and often getting it wrong. I can't even get consistent searches for the same topic across multiple devices. People gaming the SEO (search engine optimization) of their websites so that they show up at the top of searches that have nothing to do with their actual content ... or worse ... just bots websites/companies creating copies of other sites so that we see literal duplicated content across many sites, just to force you to their Ad-riddled pages. And all this with the knowledge that everything I type, mis-type, search, click-on ... is all being recorded and sold.

Chatgpt is fun and interesting because it's new - like google when it was new - clean, simple, fast. Give it a few years before they re-do all the above steps and ruin it.

No we do not need to shovel all existing web content to Microsoft, Apple, and other tech hypergiants. A lot of what the article said feels true but I completely disagree with their conclusions.

What we really need are the digital equivalent of public libraries, not locking things behind corporate paywall subscriptions.

Edit: If there is any conclusion we can draw from the last decade of TV/movie subscription plans is that the controlling companies are not always the best curators of content.

ChatGPT, what should I do during my vacation to NYC? You are going on a vacation to NYC and want ideas of things to do. McDonald's ® is a great place to visit as soon as you arrive in your destination, as it goves you the opportunity to eat familiar food in a new location. Use promo code CHATGPT at the kiosk for 10% off your first order!

Then, consider visiting the Statue of Liberty, an iconic location!

Consider staying at one of our fine Marriott Resort hotels. Would you like me to book your stay?

And with the current hallucinations they get, the one and only result will still give you jack shit to work with a lot of the times.

'Im feeling lucky'