“AI doesn’t replace human intelligence; it magnifies it.” - Garry Kasparov
I wanted to find a new audio interface, so I could continue to make awful sounds by mashing Ableton Live with my elbows. For my product research I tried Perplexity to see how the state-of-the-art in AI-enabled search was performing these days. I was looking for something that fit my specific situation — good quality, easy to use, some specific technical elements and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Perplexity threw back a few options, none of which were entirely awful, but not one completely answered my brief.
After browsing through the AI-suggested options (all perfectly fine, by the way), I decided to do some old-school research. Yes, actual human-researched recommendations. I rolled up my virual sleeves, put on a suitable soundtrack for my search montage, and I found something that didn’t even show up in the AI’s radar. It was perfect. It met every one of my pernickety criteria. That’s a good name for a 6th form band, incidentally.
What does it say about AI-enabled search if it can’t spot the best option? I wonder how many people care. I’m guessing less than 1% of the world would even notice, much less give a damn. They’d be happy with the AI’s recommendations and move on with their lives, living in blissful ignorance of what they could have had.
AI can churn out good results based on available data, but sometimes data about the best solution might not be available to it. If we don’t do our own research, we could be missing out. Which makes me wonder why we’d bother with AI-enabled search at all (until it gets better).
What can you do? If you want people to find your products and services in the future, make your online content as machine-readable as possible, so the AI agents can find it. Use age-old techniques from SEO for this and reconsider blocking AI bots from reading your website.
Interesting Links
Google’s NotebookLM Introduces Audio Overviews
NotebookLM now allows users to listen to AI-generated discussions about their sources. This new feature turns documents and slides into engaging audio conversations, summarising complex information. Though still experimental, it’s a handy tool for auditory learners.
Microsoft’s M365 Copilot Launch Update (September 2024)
Microsoft shares the latest enhancements to M365 Copilot, with a focus on AI-driven productivity tools. New features streamline workflows by integrating AI for better collaboration and task management in Word, Excel, and other tools.
ShadCN UI: Building Accessible and Customisable UIs
ShadCN UI offers a library for building customisable and accessible user interfaces. This toolkit simplifies the process for developers, ensuring they can create adaptable and user-friendly web designs.
