My job is in system operations and management. I work at a small company, handling servers, networks, and all that kind of stuff. I also create system operation plans, keep up with IT trends, and figure out how to apply them to our work.
Lately, I’ve been looking into AI, which is becoming more and more common, and thinking about how we can integrate it into our workplace. For some reason, I’ve always been good at researching things. Back when I was much younger, I had to find people for work, and I got pretty good at tracking them down with just a name. So, I guess I developed a knack for searching and knowing where to look.
Now, with the internet, searching is much easier and faster than before. But even so, I’ve come to realize that how you use the internet makes a huge difference in what results you get.
The biggest difference? Search engines. I used to use Google without thinking twice, but now I mainly use DuckDuckGo. Google feels like it’s trying to “trap” users in its ecosystem, so I’ve been avoiding it for the past few years. Of course, I still have to use Google for work (Google accounts and all), so sometimes I end up using Google search out of convenience. But honestly, I often feel like the results aren’t what I’m really looking for.
Google’s predictive capabilities are impressive, sure, but that also means it’s filtering results and not giving me a broad search. Google has the biggest index in the world, but when it shows me results, it’s like, “This is what you want, right?” And that’s not really searching, is it?
Also, the whole tracking issue bothers me. That’s why I switched to DuckDuckGo, but when I do need Google’s search power, I use StartPage. Gotta say, I’m pretty happy with my setup.
Since my job involves a lot of technical research, sometimes I need to find critical information fast. That’s when I started looking for better ways to search online and discovered AI search engines like Genspark. There are others, but after testing them all, Genspark seems to suit me best—along with Felo.
I also tried Perplexity, but when it misses, it really misses, so it’s not quite for me. That said, Genspark and Felo aren’t perfect either. They’re still evolving, and you definitely shouldn’t blindly trust them. That’s why I always cross-check with other AI tools and search engines.
Right now, my go-to tools are:
- ChatGPT, Genspark, and Felo (all paid versions)
- DuckDuckGo and StartPage for search engines
Even though ChatGPT has a browsing feature, I feel like Genspark is better at it. I need to compare them more, though. The deep research functions in Genspark and Felo are impressive, but sometimes they give me weird results. That’s why tweaking the research plan is crucial.
And here’s the problem…
AI search engines combine summarization and content generation—basically pulling from existing internet content and organizing it. But after using them extensively, I’ve realized two key things:
- The results aren’t necessarily true or factual.
- The internet is biased in what content gets published and indexed.
In short, if something isn’t online, AI can’t find it. And even though we think of the internet as a massive encyclopedia, not everything has been turned into digital content.
This really hits home for me.
The Big Question
Should we accept AI-generated results as the truth?
At the end of the day, it’s up to the user to decide.
But that tiny act of deciding what to trust… it shapes the next wave of information.
And honestly? That’s kinda scary.
Actually… really scary. 😂