^^^^^
This.

Over and over and over. Remember when they had a policy of "don't be evil"?

I've used all the old voice assistants, every time I asked a question they all seemed to default to a wikipedia search. A wikipedia search with a laggy, mistake-prone voice input.

So now there's a new "AI" version that won't even use proper wikipedia, it'll just make stuff up.

Unfortunately, it will probably be wildly successful.

Voice input will always be less accurate than writing. Voice output will always be slower than displaying writing on a screen. Input accuracy is even worse if you don't have a perfect mid-atlantic accent.

I can only come up with two explanations for why companies (not just "AI" companies) keep trying to force this on us.
1. They have so much money they don't care, or they are using investors' money and have a robust contract in place so it's OK if they waste the money.
2. The profit from selling all the data from inside your house is worth loads of money. I can see how knowing exactly what is being said in every household could be valuable to many different customers: advertisers, governments, health insurers.... note also that none of these customers have your best interests at heart. It gets even worse if you work from home and these devices can listen to confidential business calls.

I don't allow any such devices in my house. If I visit people who do have such devices, it's fun to mess with them. Obligatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/1807/

It worked OK for me. I'm using PiHole with the default settings, no adblocker. I find the BBC too infested with ads to use without something to reduce the ads.

I hadn't seen that, thanks for the link.

I remember when Microsoft got hit with an anti-trust suit because they bundled the browser with the OS. Here in 2026 Google owns the browser, the OS and the search engine. If you're on a chromebook or a Pixel they also control the hardware. Why is this allowed?

Thanks for the link. If a site like Penny Arcade has changed their tune, things must be *really* bad.

Here in Australia where there has been a social media ban for a few months, I see more teenagers outdoors. Sometimes they are congregating in groups with their peers ("gangs"???) Sometimes they are riding e-bikes and doing graffiti and it really annoys the boomers. So it really is a win: the kids are getting some fresh air, interacting with humans, and some grumpy old bastards are grumpy. Ironically, those grumpy old bastards are often doing their whining on social media.

I block them at my router.

Overall "benefits" are hard to quantify. But this attitude has definitely saved me real money. You want me to use your app to buy stuff from your business? Fuck that. You want me to use MY device on MY data to order food using a stupid QR code? Fuck that, I'll eat somewhere else. Loyalty card? Fine. Loyalty "account" tied to a phone number? Fuck that. Your business won't sell me a coffee for cash even though I have the exact change right here in my hand? I love caffeine, but fuck that.

Maybe I missed out on the most amazing coffee in the world. This is how FOMO works. But all these businesses trying to harvest PII just seems icky, even though I'm old enough to remember when everyone's name and address was written down in a big book and given away for free by the phone company.

Before facebook there were forums. Many of those forums migrated to facebook, and now the good hobby stuff is harder to search than a forum, and tied into Zuckerberg's dirty ecosystem. It's a step backwards.

I think that's a good thing, judging from the sheer amount of utter crap that still gets through. We might have to agree to disagree on this one :-)

There have always been quirky low/no budget films though. Look at what Peter Jackson did before Lord of the Rings. More recently, those Finnish "Star Wreck" movies. Technology is only getting cheaper, and passion projects more accessible. There will always be plenty of video content from independent producers.

You're just describing life before ubiquitous broadband (and therefore simple video streaming). Now that most people have a fast internet connection, it doesn't matter if youtube goes away. If youtube goes away, streaming video won't disappear, some new ecosystem will grow in its place. Hopefully with less AI slop and attention whoring.

The same way it all worked before youtube.

Mostly a waste of time. If you have time to waste though, go take a look!