[londons_explore]

The algorithm used to be very complex and a big trade secret. Now it's just a bunch of big neural networks, and while still secret, doesn't look very different to Bings. The difference is Google has much more data to train theirs, so the results are better.

[username90]

> Now it's just a bunch of big neural networks

This isn't true. Neural networks doesn't have state of the art performance in many areas, there is no way they would use them for everything.

[coldcode]

It was an algorithm originally. Today it's a bunch of big neural networks as you say, which are basically impossible to document, much less explain changes in, or even know if anything changed.

[mrweasel]

That is much more terrifying that Google may not fully understand their search results, compared to not wanting to reveal their search algorithm.

[username90]

When you have hundreds of engineers putting together models to create the result page there will be nobody who understands the entire thing.

[mrweasel]

True, but imagine going to Ford and asking: How does your cars work?

If they came back with: “Frankly we’re not entirely sure, we just jigglede the handles in the factory until they came out like we wanted them to.” Then they’d not be allowed on to sell any cars anymore.

[qwerpoi]

You mean kinda like how no one truly understands aerodynamic lift, but we are still able to create great airplanes because we have accurate models and do loads of testing?