undefined | Better HN

0 pointsimiric2y ago0 comments

If the AI is summarizing web pages, why couldn't this be done with a browser extension?

If the AI is summarizing files the user downloads, why couldn't this be done with external tools?

In general though, why does the browser itself need to be "smart"? Its primary, and perhaps only, goal should be to render web pages... I feel like this push to integrate AI features into browsers is done so that companies can promote their own (completely unrelated) AI services, and pull people even more into their ecosystem. It's obnoxious.

0 comments

dkarras2y ago

It can be done with a browser extension, and external tools. I only care about the friction, speed and ease of use. I am indifferent to where the functionality comes from, really. I'd like to have a very scriptable barebones browser alas such a thing does not exist as far as I know, so if the browser has them handy and it provides good experience, it is a net positive for me in any case.

imiricOP2y ago

Sure, I can see how it would be useful, but wouldn't you prefer to have the choice of which AI to use? What if Brave's AI is worse than Chrome's, which is worse than ChatGPT? Or what if it's better, and you're now tied to that browser, even though you'd otherwise use something else?

Even if I had this functionality built-in, I would still prefer to use something else. Even if that's slightly more cumbersome, though there will probably be extensions for this sort of thing, if they don't exist already.

But, to each their own. :)

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse