Behind the Bastards Behind the Bastards Presents: Better Offline
Dec 8, 2024
Ellen Hewitt, a Bloomberg Technology reporter known for her insights on Sam Altman and OpenAI, dives into pressing issues in the tech landscape. She discusses the critical role of journalism in holding tech giants accountable amid growing distrust. The conversation also explores Google's internal struggles with search performance and the ethical dilemmas at OpenAI, spotlighting Sam Altman's leadership crisis. Hewitt emphasizes the need for community action against digital darkness and reflects on the complex narratives surrounding AI advancements.
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Google's Code Yellow
- Google's ad revenue faltered in 2019, triggering a "Code Yellow."
- Ben Gomes, then head of search, prioritized user experience over growth, clashing with Prabhakar Raghavan.
Growth at All Costs
- Prabhakar Raghavan, Google's head of ads, prioritized revenue growth, even suggesting user-negative changes to search.
- Gomes argued that prioritizing user experience was the best long-term strategy.
Search Quality Decline
- Google's March 2019 core update likely resulted from Raghavan's push for growth, potentially rolling back quality improvements.
- Gomes was demoted, and Raghavan became head of Google Search.