The End of Search

A few weeks ago I wrote this post about how Google, once a foundation of the open web, had shifted decisively against it by transforming search into the front end of a chatbot. Now the Times has a piece that examines the same issue. This is usually presented as a extinction event or at least a catastrophe for publishers. It is. (It’s not for us because we were never very reliant on search.) But as I noted in that June post, there’s much more here than an issue for publishers. It’s part of the broader oligarchic moment in which a literal handful of monopoly tech platforms further entrench their monopolies, lock in ever greater profits and continue to plug that money back into to the political system they need to control to sustain and guard those profits. LATEST Where Things Stand From Red Cards to Photobombs, Donald Trump Tried to Make the World Cup About Himself 07.20.26 | 5:13 pm News States Are Feeling the Economic Toll of Trump’s War on the Federal Government 07.20.26 | 4:19 pm Cafe The Trump Admin’s Global Campaign Against ‘Radical Left Terrorism’ Is Built on a National Security Memo Without Congressional Approval 07.20.26 | 3:00 pm News Trump Comes to Terms With the Fact That the Entire SAVE Act Can’t Be Stuffed in Budget Bill 07.20.26 | 1:48 pm