Since I've been seeing a lot of "switch to Ecosia for search they are sustainable and European" hints lately your evaluation might soon change:
Their boss explicitly wants not just to add "AI" to search but go all in on more "AI" tools. (Which sucks, I was thinking about applying for the CTO job there but I won't waste my time seeing that)
(Article in German) https://t3n.de/news/ecosia-ceo-in-drei-monaten-sind-wir-die-groesste-ki-app-europas-1726345/
@tante argh ein ständiger Wechsel mit meiner Suchmaschine. Irgendwelche Vorschläge?
Wahrscheinlich endet's dann (mal wieder) zwischen @StartpageSearch oder @Qwant .... und der Hoffnung, dass dort keine Hiobsbotschaft kommt...
@tante It seems like going all in for AI is against the idea that this search engine helps the planet. Odd choice.
@tante "hi we are the eco-brand, lets shove the planetburning machine into our product"
@tante it's a bloody shame, because they've done quite a lot of good things over the years. Not every project is the succes they hope for, but many are really making a change.
@tante
What do you think of Qwant?
@raymaccarthy tried it, for me the quality of results isn't fully there
In which language do you make your searches?
@327ppm english and german
@tante
We recently started our German language index. This extension was clearly in high demand by Ecosia, given its large German-speaking user base. English will be added later this year. Therefore, both languages are or will soon be the subject of intense work and attention. ✌️
I hope to have you among our users. The larger the user base, the more advertising revenue will increase, and the more it will be possible to reinvest in the necessary development and infrastructure to scale further.
@327ppm the search engine I use and pay for (Kagi) might even use that index.
@tante I guess it depends on how much of the computing is done by light-weight client-side models, for autocomplete and improved search parameters, it could hold merit. If they’re talking about data-centers however, it would indeed seem a little counterproductive to the climate cause.
@tante Gibts noch eine Suchmaschine die kein Chatbot werden will? Startpage, DDG, Qwant sind ja alle dem gleichen Wahn verfallen.
@tante Ich zuck bei Läden, die mit der Botschaft, $Firmeninhaber würden $irgendwo Bäume pflanzen, eigentlich grundsätzlich mit den Schultern, seit diese "Gute Schokolade" Geschichte auseinandergeflogen ist:
https://www.zeit.de/2021/19/plant-for-the-planet-spendengelder-zweifel-glaubwuerdigkeit-schueler-initiative
Damn. Can't we have any nice things at all anymore?
@tante I personally prefer #Qwant. From my experience they have better results (more relevant results) and a more honest sales pitch (I don't care how much trees Ecosia plants, I care how they reduce their own footprint).
That doesn't mean, they are opposed to AI. In the end EUSP is not only a search index, but also AI training data. But they don't pivot to AI as much as Ecosia does.
@tante Oh noez, what an error in judgement!
@tante I also find it a bit hypocritical to start green and ethical, and then pivot to something so... problematic.
@ainmosni Yeah. Looks as if "sustainability" was just a marketing gag
@tante @ainmosni But, but, but… they only use power from renewable sources 🥺
The power *consumption* is the problem. Wasting power from renewable sources is still wasting power.
I wish someone could teach them that waste heat is a non-negligible contributor to climate change. It‘s not only carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.
@tante There's also this bit re "European": https://ieji.de/@diogop/115911104869705843
