I'm gonna get whacked by a Comet!
What is agentic searching? I had no idea. Never heard of it until about an hour ago. Perplexity describes it like this:
Agentic search is an advanced form of artificial intelligence that goes beyond traditional keyword-based search engines to provide more personalized, context-aware, and action-oriented results. It utilizes AI agents capable of understanding user intent, analyzing multiple sources, and performing complex tasks autonomously 1 3 5. (emphasis added)
AI agents can interpret and refine ambiguous queries by considering user context, search history, and intent 5. Agents can access and synthesize information from various sources, including vector databases, web searches, APIs, and specialized tools 4. The system analyzes user preferences, past behavior, and current context to tailor search results 3. Agentic search can break down complex queries, validate information across sources, and provide comprehensive answers 2.
Agentic search represents a significant evolution in information retrieval, offering users more accurate, relevant, and actionable results while reducing the time and effort required to find and process information 7. As this technology continues to develop, it has the potential to reshape how users interact with search engines and access information online 8.
I interpret this as a major step toward building infrastructure needed for implementing the intention economy. The goal is commercial-economic. Comet has some agency, unlike current AI. It can book reservations, pay bills and suggest restaurants and entertainment possibilities. Comet is aimed at displacing the currently dominant intention economy. Unless I misunderstand this[1], Comet is a major step toward unleashing a semi-autonomous AI agent to learn how read a person's intentions and, more creepily, how to implant desires, especially money spending desires into people.
I wrote about the intention economy last January in a world-class blog post entitled The intention economy: Subtly, quietly replacing your motives with their motives:
Long story short: Artificial intelligence gives the opportunists a way to discover and manipulate your intentions and motives to do or not do something, e.g., to buy or not buy a product or to vote for or against a political candidate.
There's a Coment coming and
it's definitely gonna hit Earth!
(Safety tip: buy an umbrella to protect yourself and your loved ones)
Qs:
1. Has Germaine gone off his rocker and mental meds to let Comet into his brain-mind to rummage around and tinker with it?
2. Is Germaine insanely hubristic and/or stupid to think that the intention economy technology will not be subtle or powerful enough to get, i.e., trick, the poor boob to (i) buy another Tesla, (ii) vote for a 3rd term for djt in 2028, while (iii) buying tickets for a well-deserved vacation in Sunny Moscow, Russia in January?
(Frozen nuts alert!!)
An observation about defenses against dark free speech: For years I've been harping on an urgent need for mandatory public education in defenses against the dark arts (demagoguery, propaganda, lies, slanders, crackpot conspiracy theories, etc.). All Americans now require more education in critical thinking skills, rhetoric, self-awareness, and a reasonable understanding of the importance of unconscious bias and the power of social context. IMFO, (in my firm opinion) the coming of intention economy technology makes tghe public's lack of mental self-defenses even more urgent and important. This is a whole new front in the endless war for minds and dollars. I doubt that more than ~5% of the American people ever heard of the intention economy, and even fewer understand it to see what it is designed to do.
Footnote:
1. Perplexity was creepily cagey and understated about the role of Comet in transitioning our brain-minds from the attention economy to the intention economy.
Q: Is Comet part of the intention economy, presumably intended to surpass and displace the attention economy?A: Comet, the AI-powered browser being developed by Perplexity, appears to be aligned with the concept of the intention economy, but it's not yet clear if it will fully realize this vision or successfully displace the attention economy. [Appears to be aligned with?? Ahhh!, understatement alert!!!]
The intention economy, as originally conceived, aims to empower consumers and create more genuine relationships between customers and vendors 1 5. While Comet may contribute to this vision, there are also concerns about a potentially problematic version of the intention economy:
Data commodification: Some researchers warn of a marketplace for behavioral and psychological data that signals intent, which could be used for hyper-personalized manipulation 5 6.
AI-driven persuasion: There are concerns about AI assistants that could forecast and influence decision-making at an early stage, potentially selling these developing "intentions" to companies 5.
