Google Chrome Gains AI Features Including a Writing Helper (techcrunch.com) 33
Google is adding new AI features to Chrome, including tools to organize browser tabs, customize themes, and assist users with writing online content such as reviews and forum posts.
The writing helper is similar to an AI-powered feature already offered in Google's experimental search experience, SGE, which helps users draft emails in various tones and lengths. With the built-in Chrome writing tool, Google said users could potentially compose business reviews, RSVP messages, rental inquiries, and posts for online forums. TechCrunch adds: The still-experimental feature will be accessible in next month's Chrome release by right-clicking on a text box or field on the web and then choosing "help me write." To get started, you'll first write a few words and then Google's AI will jump in to help.
The writing helper is similar to an AI-powered feature already offered in Google's experimental search experience, SGE, which helps users draft emails in various tones and lengths. With the built-in Chrome writing tool, Google said users could potentially compose business reviews, RSVP messages, rental inquiries, and posts for online forums. TechCrunch adds: The still-experimental feature will be accessible in next month's Chrome release by right-clicking on a text box or field on the web and then choosing "help me write." To get started, you'll first write a few words and then Google's AI will jump in to help.
Clippy (Score:3)
Google copies Microsoft product!
DO NOT WANT (Score:2)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
So, what was the down side? (Score:4, Funny)
Google dropped Win7 from receiving updates to Chrome. So, I guess that makes this a win-win situation?
At least it'll be easy to spot AI-written posts (Score:5, Interesting)
assist users with writing online content such as reviews and forum posts.
In other words, anything written with proper grammar will be AI-generated.
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assist users with writing online content such as reviews and forum posts.
In other words, anything written with proper grammar will be AI-generated.
Damn. Funny or insightful. What to choose, what to choose...
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Damn. Funny or insightful. What to choose, what to choose...
Damn, you're right. It's like its written by Odgen Nash... ;)
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Damn, you're right. It's like its written by Odgen Nash... ;)
Ogden oops
Coming soon: More fluff than the Stay-Puft MM. (Score:4, Insightful)
Is this a harbinger of future AI which will be needed to summarize all the cr*p we are soon going to have to parse?
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Is this a harbinger of future AI which will be needed to summarize all the cr*p we are soon going to have to parse?
No, of COURSE not. The future has AI generating all of that cr*p for you to read for free, but then you'll have to subscribe to an AI that converts all of it back into normal English text again.
It'll be just like ROT-13, but with a dictionary and performing the decode costs: Money, Information, Location, SSN, DNA, History, OF account access -- take your pick. Or even better yet, we'll take OUR pick.
What is sent back to Google? (Score:5, Interesting)
How much of what's being written using this tool is sent back to Google?
Re:What is sent back to Google? (Score:4, Insightful)
Everything. Always has. Always will.
Re:What is sent back to Google? (Score:4, Informative)
How much of what's being written using this tool is sent back to Google?
The text you write. The actual generated text will come from Google's servers.
Re: (Score:3)
How much of what's being written using this tool is sent back to Google?
The text you write. The actual generated text will come from Google's servers.
None of it. It's all private and Google never sees any of it, EVER. Why I'm surprised at you promoting false news and such. THINK before you post next time!
Wait -- why is my browser typing all by itself?
Re: What is sent back to Google? (Score:2)
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If they use the advanced models, then yes. They also have models that fit on-device. Unclear if those are involved here.
But, the real question isn't what gets sent to a server; the real question is what that server is allowed to log.
Given a warrant, anything sent to the server can end up being logged, even if it isn't "allowed", so I think the real question is "what is the on device software allowed to send to the server". With you on all the rest.
Re: What is sent back to Google? (Score:2)
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What can be discovered when one is targeted by the full power of the state is a very different privacy equation from what an average user should reasonably worry about.
I agree in the current situation and as long as Google is showing resistance to being monitored. Unfortunately that's a dangerous calculation because the monitoring is possible to fully automate, meaning that it is now possible for all people at the same time to be subject to state monitoring and there are a bunch of situations where that is possible to happen. Those situations include spy organizations (NSA, but also non American), simply being in a different jurisdiction where mass monitoring is legal or
The glorious future (Score:5, Funny)
...will be where all posts will written entirely by AIs, thereby freeing all of us from reading or writing any of them.
Humanity will be freed of the shackles of internet forums and social media, will start to interact with each other in the real world, and there will be a new golden age.
It will all end when the Crapularity hits, as the efficiency of AI in generating worthless forum posts (which humanity will have been totally ignoring) becomes so fast that it uses energy at a rate faster than humanity can generate through a combination of nuclear fusion collection of 90% of the solar radians hitting earth. The entire industrial and technological infrastructure will collapse, most of humanity will end up dying off, and we'll be thrown back to the stone age.
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Heh, oops. Nope, just somebody who thinks about angles more often than radiance.
Of course, that's just what an AI would say.
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terabytes? (Score:4, Funny)
How many terabytes of memory is chrome going to be using now?
Choose a free web over an AI-overlorded web. (Score:4, Insightful)
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Re:Choose a free web over an AI-overlorded web. (Score:4)
Firefox
You're welcome.
Re: (Score:3)
Palemoon gets through the Cloudflare "protection" at fanfiction.net, for what it's worth. AFAIK that's a fork of XUL-era Firebox, so I doubt it depends on blood-money from "You don't have any privacy; get over it" Google.
It will be fun to read (Score:2)
Smartening up the Dumbing Down... (Score:4, Insightful)
I think I prefer a world where dumb people who can barely string a sentence together, let alone have a coherent original thought, are super easy to spot online.
Now Google is going to give them access to AI to write their dumb comments for them, but with corrected grammar and spelling.
Heck, at least have some sort of intelligence check as a requirement for use!
Maybe this will make slashdot posts more useful (Score:3)
I mean, maybe it will make the headline and the summary actually represent the content of the lined story, so we slashdotters never have to read another story again.
And maybe it will help commenters write English sentences that pertain to the subject at hand.
Hmmm...how can we work moderation improvements in there!
At least it's not forced on the user (Score:3)
Since the user must take action to enable this, it's at least a start to not have your typing interrupted by some moronic "helper".
By default, in both software and web sites, any sort of "help" should be turned off. Nothing should be offered unless the user requests it. One of the greatest annoyances is typing in something on a web site and having the web site think it knows what you want, which invariably ends up being wrong and forcing you to type all over again. Realtor.com is notorious for this. If you type in a series of similar zip codes it will default back to the first one. You have to type fast enough and hit Enter before their "helper" tries to help you.
I don't mind seeing the field level out. (Score:2)
Give everybody a voice. That's fine. Bubble up the ideas of some people that might have been sidelined because of questionable literacy. ...BUT...
I'll bet that on average the worthwhile ideas still come from basically the same sources that they did before.
You cannot state that semi-literate people do not have great thoughts. It happens. But you can say that on average, great thoughts are more likely to spring forth from literate minds.
Orly (Score:1)