M.G. Siegler says AI is Breaking the Browser’s Back. His problem starts with OpenAI’s GPT Atlas, which some publishers won’t let view their contents on the Web. For example, if you are reading this blog post with an Atlas browser, this link to the NYTimes will get you this message instead of a Web page: “ChatGPT is unable to access the contents of this website.”

As for Atlas itself, Anil Dash calls it the “anti-Web browser.” That’s because,

1. “Atlas substitutes its own AI-generated content for the web, but it looks like it’s showing you the web
2. The user experience makes you guess what commands to type instead of clicking on links
3. You’re the agent for the browser, it’s not being an agent for you“

Then there’s Amazon vs. Perplexity, a fracas that owes to Perplexity’s AI-powered Comet browser. which shops for you. Amazon prefers human shoppers, naturally.

Comet, says Perplexity, is “Your personal assistant: What can Comet do? Discover everything that can be delegated, from wrangling inboxes to ordering groceries, staying on top of finances to planning vacations.”

Okay, but is it yours? Or is it a suction cup on a corporate tentacle? For some answers, here are Comet Data Privacy & Security FAQ’s. Sure. it says lots of the right stuff. But it’s a service, not something that is fully yours.

I suppose a case can be made that we now live in an age when everything is a service, and your personal agency can only be expressed online through services of one kind or another.

I don’t buy that. But I can also use help explaining why. Thanks.