Okay, let's dive into this "People Also Ask" thing that Google throws at you when you're desperately trying to find an answer online. Supposedly, it's a curated list of questions related to your search, right? A helpful guide through the wilderness of the internet? Give me a break. It's more like a reflection of our collective idiocy.
Seriously, who are these "people" who are asking these questions? Are they bots? Are they toddlers banging on keyboards? Because some of the queries that pop up are so mind-numbingly stupid, they make me question the future of humanity. It's like the internet has become one giant, digital suggestion box filled with the ramblings of the terminally confused.
And the worst part? We're relying on this thing. We're letting an algorithm decide what questions are "relevant" and "important." It's a self-fulfilling prophecy of dumbness. The more we ask dumb questions, the more dumb questions get amplified, and the dumber we all become. It's like a snake eating its own tail, only the snake is made of silicon and the tail is our collective intelligence.
I'm not saying all the questions are useless, offcourse. Sometimes you find something genuinely helpful. But wading through the sea of garbage to find that one pearl of wisdom? Ain't nobody got time for that.
Here's the thing that really grinds my gears: this whole system is based on the idea that algorithms are somehow objective and unbiased. That they can magically discern what we truly need to know. But algorithms are created by people, and people are biased. The "People Also Ask" feature isn't some neutral oracle; it's a reflection of the biases and assumptions of the people who programmed it.
And what are those biases? Well, judging from the questions that keep popping up, it seems like Google thinks we're all obsessed with celebrity gossip, conspiracy theories, and the best way to microwave a hot dog.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good conspiracy theory as much as the next guy. But is that really what we should be prioritizing? Are we really supposed to believe that the patent office is staffed with superheroes who know everything?
So, what's the solution? Should we just shut down the internet and go back to living in caves? Probably not. But we do need to start being more critical of the information we consume online. We need to stop blindly trusting algorithms and start thinking for ourselves.
Maybe we need a "People Also Think" feature. A tool that encourages us to engage with complex ideas, challenge our assumptions, and ask better questions. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking. Maybe we're already too far gone.
