A new browser will soon be appearing according to report by Reuters. OpenAI will be releasing a browser that will go up against Chrome and Safari. Unsurprisingly, the real goal here is not to simply capture marketshare as a vanity exercise. What OpenAI most likely wants is data.
Ever since Google first figured out that it could use the data it collects to predict behaviour and preferences, there’s been a battle between different parties to collect as much data as possible. And while Apple says it’s not playing that game and has taken steps to reduce the flow of data from our devices to data-gobbling tech giants, that doesn’t mean others aren’t looking to collect data.
Reuters says that Chrome makes up about three-quarters of Alphabet’s revenue, as the browser provides user information to help Alphabet target ads. Which also explains why it’s happy to pay Apple billions to be the default search engine on Apple’s devices. That’s a deal the EU is looking into and is likely to deem anticompetitive.
OpenAI hasn’t made any direct comment about its browser yet. With the company already a dominant force in AI, a browser will give the company an opportunity to further embed itself in users’ day to day lives.
Opinion
While I do find some AI services useful, I don’t trust them. The way in which generative AI tools have collected their training data is suggestive of intellectual property theft with multiple lawsuits taking place in different jurisdictions.
The results many of these tools deliver are of poor quality or wrong. I saw a ChatGPT-created infographic yesterday that was filled with basic spelling errors despite being prompted with the correct spelling. And there are many cases when the chatbot interpolates data incorrectly when it lacks the appropriate data to reply with a verified fact.
Embedding that into a browser – a tool most of us use for several hours every day – will introduce risks to users.
Anthony is the founder of Australian Apple News. He is a long-time Apple user and former editor of Australian Macworld. He has contributed to many technology magazines and newspapers as well as appearing regularly on radio and occasionally on TV.