halynaryfiak.com

Author: Halyna

  • Today’s latest downgrade: What has AI done to Google search?

    Back in 2017, when I had my first serious blog, I used to pride myself on having decent organic traffic without really trying. In 2019, when I got my marketing job, I would share with my coworkers small tricks for using Google search to get valuable data. Now, in 2026 I can barely stand using Google. AI has ruined my experience and if I weren’t interested in maybe learning a bit of that AEO (answer engine optimization? really?), I would’ve turned off that feature long ago.

    Have you noticed that with the rabid push for everything AI-first, google search has become practically unusable? Or is it another trick to get us to train it by forcing ridiculous results that will put a saint into a state of rage? So you click on that tiny button and type up your ‘corrections’. You think to yourself that you’re doing something good for the community. But in reality you are providing free AI-training service to the companies who think that you drink too much water. Leave some for the data centers! Oh, why won’t anyone think of the data centers!

    Yes, that’s my experience, alright.

    The other day I was watching… What movie was it again? It was something on hoopla, probably. I’m just here trying to get the best use of my library card, and truth be told, I’ve been longing for a platform that streams more of the oldies and has a decent search feature.

    So, anyway… There was this one character who showed up in the ‘present day’ sequence, as if commenting on the things from the past, which were the actual story… Virgin Suicides! That’s what I was watching. So, I decided to google if that character was an addict, because at some point it seemed as if he was staying at some institution? And Google AI started explaining to me what is an ‘adult trip’, followed by another answer that was actually relevant…

    Of course, I didn’t think to grab a screenshot then and AI knows better now. But you must have noticed yourself, that if previously you could have a little trust in the algorithm as long as you put in the right keywords, but now you have to keep retyping your request and cater to the artificial ‘intelligence’ to help it help you.

    It’s called ‘prompt engineering’ and it’s a valuable skill in the modern workspace. I’m just wondering how does it make AI actually ‘intelligent’ if it can barely grasp the things that the old primitive google search had no trouble dealing with. I don’t want google to be a smart ass and explain to me the meaning of the search phrase that I put in quotation marks. I want it to give me web pages where that exact phrasing is used. I already know what it means. I do this to check frequency of use!

    Here’s another example! I started reading a book and came across a very odd phrase which seemed almost like some long forgotten idiom. I asked google and it said that it’s commonly used in literary translations and works of fiction. I add quotation marks. Ta-da! Two search results both mentioning the book I was reading. What is ‘common’ anyway?

    Now that I have all this typed up and ready to hit publish… I’m starting to regret using my government name for the domain name. Especially now that I’ve started a new career in tech… What if any of my coworkers see this and… gasp!.. I’m bashing AI! So, for disclaimer, this is a work of fiction and all events, incidents, and opinions are the products of the author’s imagination. If that’s not convincing enough, all this is just ragebait for engagement (and maybe a little organic traffic? please?).

    I think, that If we really want to have an informed opinion on AI, I’d suggest waiting for Erin Brockovich to complete her investigation first. And while we’re at it, let’s get some more research done on whether or not frequent AI use may cause permanent cognitive decline.

    This blog post won’t have any ‘moral to the story’ or witty conclusion. It’s just an observation on the current state of AI. And what have you noticed?

  • Career change later in life? Now is the time!

    I’m currently undergoing an intensive training course with prospects of employment in the IT industry. Well, this was supposed to be my career path five years ago, before it got derailed by marketing. Now, it feels like I’m finally back on track and ready for a big change. You know how they say that no one wants to hire you after you’re past the age of 35? That’s neither true, nor representing of the current reality. I’ve experienced it. I’ve seen it happen in my immediate community. I see it brought up in career talk all the time. And now I’d like to add my two cents into the discussion.

    (more…)

  • Returning to my Instagram art account… or something like that

    I’ve had this account for longer than I can remember. I feel kinda bad for changing the username a few times. It was back when I wasn’t too sure about what to do with my art and writing. I was trying to keep things separate, and then throwing everything in one pot. I simply couldn’t decide.

    And now I’m kinda trying something again. I haven’t decided what’s the purpose of this art account. I mean… other than a place to post my art experiments until I can figure out what I’m doing.

    So here it is.


  • Shy efficiency will get you accused of cheating

    Sadly, this is something I’ve been dealing with constantly throughout my life.

    I remember in the third year of university I had this practical course… I’m not even sure what we were doing exactly. I can’t remember. But usually the class dynamics would go like this:

    1. Professor assistant explains a new topic
    2. Asks if the class understands the material
    3. Whoever doesn’t understand the material, goes up to the blackboard and solves examples with PA’s help
    4. We do practical assignments on our own time
    5. Submit reports
    6. In the final exam you solve a few equations

    That pretty much was the entire scope of the class. So, imagine my surprise, when after completing the course and getting my excellent grade, it was reported back to me by other students, that the PA was going around all the other groups telling them the magnificent story of how I redeemed myself after she thought I was a cheater.

    You see… only those who had trouble understanding the material, were told to solve equations in front of the class. I never did. So I completed my assignments and submitted reports. During the final exam, the PA asked me to sit right in front of her and do the task in my notebook, while two other students were doing theirs on the blackboard. She gave me the assignment and turned away to help another student.

    Two minutes later, she turned back to me and said: “Why aren’t you doing the assignment?”

    To which I replied: “I’m done.”

    I walked out of that auditorium having no idea that anything was happening behind the scenes. In the meantime, the PA would tell anyone who cared to listen, that she assumed I was dumb and paid for all my reports. And of course, I “surprised” her by actually solving the damn equation in under two minutes while sitting in front of her, while she was helping her star student who was confused in front of the blackboard.

    Take what you want from this story.

  • On accessible resources and piracy

    On accessible resources and piracy

    Do you know that song from the Arthur cartoon? Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card! Or something along the lines… Well, today I finally managed to get back on Libby and it only took a few hours of intense research and 50 dollars. It really is that easy! Or not?

    I remember years ago having a conversation in the comment section of some YouTube video about how it is so easy to access books via a library system. And I had to explain to the person that… no, actually, it really depends on your location. You see, libraries are cherished for providing books for free. And for a long time that was the case in my local community. But at some point my local libraries decided to start charging a fee for taking out books… in case people fail to return them at a later time. No, not a late fee, but a fee to take out the book in the first place. And depending on the book, they would decide on the price, sometimes racking up a pretty penny. I remember the first time I got hit with the question “Wait, didn’t you have to pay a fee for this book? It looks new.” And I didn’t have much to say because to me the book wasn’t of much literary value, to my dismay! And it was at least a decade old, so paying full market price for a library book seemed a little strange. And you might say that “This is just a ‘holding’ fee and you’ll get you money back when you return the book!” I tried doing that and immediately felt bad for the librarian, who was trying to find cash to give back to me. Of course, the money has already been spent on something else. So the entire premise turned out to be a lie. And don’t get me started on government funding! I could write a whole new blog post on why that is an issue locally. It’s a very complicated topic. At this point I’m starting to believe that the entire publisher-government-library pipeline is designed to destroy the industry. I wouldn’t go as far as to claim that I ahve solid proof, but I do have a strong feeling and too many observations to prove my point.

    So trying to acquire books via local libraries is looking more and more like a scam. At some point, I stopped trying and turned to international libraries. I managed to get ahold of a library card and use Libby for about a year. But it was around the time when these how-to guides were promoted all over the internet, and I guess too many people abused the system. I also came across a few opinions that it was somehow connected to the Covid lockdowns and cuts in funding. So, libraries started reducing the services for non-residents and even international customers.

    Ever since I lost access to Libby, I’ve been trying to get it back. I looked through dozens of discussion forums, library websites, and agregate blog posts. And finally, this morning I signed up at a library that shall not be named, got my account information in an email, and just a minute later I had the joy and privilege of browsing the wast library collection and taking out an audiobook that I’m currently listening to.

    I love Libby! Not only for the easy access to books and audiobooks. I like flipping through their digital magazine catalogue and also using the extra resources. Like the Hoopla website that is like the Netflix of libraries.

    At the same time, I have to acknowledge that my country is a cesspool of digital piracy. In the most recent news, a popular book catalogue announced that they are stopping all operations. This has sparked discussions on the importnace of said website due to it being the place of last resort for many obscure scientific works which the last few generations of academics have used for their research. Then again, all those resources were not licensed, so even the existence of that website was highly unethical in today’s standards.

    This got me thinking (as someone who’s been wrecking my brain trying to figure out how to get more Ukrainian classics onto project Gutenberg), if those books were really that precious, surely academics had an interest in legalizing and preserving them. Why wasn’t anything done? Was there even a discussion? Not today, when the website is already as good as gone. But back when all these students and professors were downloading illegally obtained materials for their personal use and gain. Why did they never stop to think that maybe what they were doing was wrong and would harm their own community in the long run?

    So many questions, and no one bothered enough to answer them.