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The Tragedy of Google Search

Sep 22, 2023 - theatlantic.com
Google Search, once a marvel of the internet, is now facing criticism for its bloated and over-monetized state, making it harder for users to find authoritative answers. The company is currently on trial for violating antitrust laws, with the Justice Department arguing that Google's dominance in the search-engine market is due to massive sums paid to companies like Apple for default service use, rather than superior technology. Google's defense is that while user data can improve search quality, there are diminishing returns to scale, a claim contradicted by internal Google emails.

However, Google's lawyers might be right about the diminishing returns of its size, but not in the intended way. The company's success has led to stagnation, with ex-Googlers claiming that it has become "conservative," "arrogant," and lacking a mission. Its products, especially Search, have grown bloated with advertisements and prioritize its own services over organic results. Despite constant updates to its algorithms, there is a growing sense that the site is no longer as useful or intuitive as it once was. The company's struggle to deliver high-quality search results may continue as the internet becomes flooded with AI-generated content.

Key takeaways:

  • Google Search, once a streamlined and efficient tool, has become bloated and overmonetized, making it harder to find authoritative answers.
  • Google is currently on trial for violating antitrust laws by allegedly protecting its monopoly position in the online-search business.
  • Despite Google's argument that there are diminishing returns to scale, the company's success is largely due to its ability to index vast amounts of information and process billions of queries a day.
  • Google's continuous growth and expansion into various sectors, driven by the pressure to appease investors, has led to a decline in the quality of its search results and overall product.
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