The navigation to earlier parts of the series seems broken to me (Iceweasel/Debian Sid/noscript set to allow page) so I backed up to the front page and found the links...
Part 1
https://medium.com/backchannel/how-google-search-dealt-with-...
Part 2
https://medium.com/backchannel/googles-secret-study-to-find-...
Part 3
https://medium.com/backchannel/google-search-will-be-your-ne...
Part 4
https://medium.com/backchannel/the-deep-mind-of-demis-hassab...
Why am I saying this? I do not know whether these technologies are making people smarter or less smart. It certainly helps to have something that can help do the tasks you just would not be able to do on your own without much toiling, however I think a lot about the day when your AI enabled digital assistant makes every single decision for you.
You don't realize it, but you're actually less productive than your friends with GPS.
I never use a GPS, and generally never have to spend time thinking about directions. They just come to me, and eventually I'm at my destination and wonder how I got there. Compare to futzing with the terrible UI of most GPSes and interrupting conversations to listen to them tell me how far until the next slight bend in the road.
The only thing that really impressed me so far was that ibm computer playing jeopardy, but the fact that no other application became public after all this years make me wonder if once again all people built was a manually tuned specialized system.
Note : i'm not in the field so my feelings are just based on the communication around the subject and decades of claims about building an intelligent algorithm with no success.
