The difference between ChatGPT and Google

I’ve read a lot about ChatGPT and why Google might be threatened by it. But let me explain why I don’t believe in that threat, and why it’s so important to distinguish between the value of data and the value of information.

Data and information are two related but distinct concepts. Data refers to raw, unorganized facts and figures that are often collected in large quantities. Information, on the other hand, is the result of processing and analyzing data to make it meaningful and useful.

Context plays a crucial role in determining the power and usefulness of data and information.

Context refers to the circumstances or conditions in which something exists or occurs. Without context, data, and information can be meaningless or misleading.

For example, consider a set of numbers: 2, 4, 6, 8. This is data, but without any context or additional information, it is difficult to determine its significance or usefulness.

However, if we provide some context, the data becomes more meaningful.

For example, if we say that these numbers represent the scores of a student on four different exams, we now have information that can help us make sense of the data. We can determine the student’s average score, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and make recommendations for improvement.

The power of information is therefore heavily dependent on the context in which it is presented.

The same set of data can have vastly different meanings depending on the context in which it is analyzed. This is why it is important to ensure that the context is clearly defined and understood when presenting or interpreting data and information.

In summary,

data is raw, unorganized facts and figures, while information is the result of processing and analyzing data to make it meaningful and useful. The power of information is heavily dependent on the context in which it is presented, and context plays a crucial role in determining the significance and usefulness of data and information.

Back to our Google vs. ChatGPT example, both have access to the same pool of data, the World Wide Web. Google, because of its long history, extensive profiling, and strategic technology alliances, knows who searched for what information on what device.

Btw. it doesn’t matter if you search on an Android or Apple device, both end up in a Google database. So in my opinion, Google has the most important user touchpoints: Browser, search engine and all other google products you use, therefore Google will always have more context to you as a person, and will be able to provide more meaningful answers and examples to you. The example and the text above, is a ChatGPT generated text and I can tell you, I would have never chosen the numbers and school example. 🤓

Don’t you think that combining data and information has more potential to derive better actions?

Written by Tim Biedenkapp (CTO of adorsys).