“The dream of an open search engine” I Spektrum.de

OpenWebSearch.eu was portrayed in German science magazine Spektrum.de 

Read our short summary of the article highlighting the project goals and milestones:

The article is titled „The dream of an open search engine“.
What follows is a thorough look into why Europe desperately needs a web index of its own and how the OWS.EU project that is funded by Horizon Europe currently operates across six European countries in a collaborative manner.  The project comprises 14 partners – including Supercomputing Centres, Universities and Non-Profit & Tech Associations. The goal: Building a European Open Web Index prototype as a basis for European digital sovereignty.

„So far, 1.3 billion URLs in 185 languages, totaling 60 terabytes, have been crawled and indexed“ states OWS.EU project lead Michael Granitzer from the University of Passau in the article.

Quite a milestone, considering that the Horizon Europe funded project is currently only mid-term into its timeline and already taking on tangible shape.

Will OWS.EU create a Search Engine that can compete with existing giants such as Google and Bing?

The OWS.EU project will certainly also develop its own search offerings, but only as prototypes to show what is possible. The aim is not to compete directly with Google. “It’s about enabling diversity in the search market in the first place. We provide the search index that partners can use, whether commercially or non-commercially.” says Michael Granitzer.

A variety of search engine types could be implemented in the future, e.g. Vertical Search Engines that focus on special topics of interest or Argument-Search that can deliver pros and cons for specific search queries.

Even privacy-friendly downloadable index parts to allow custom-search could be an option.

But what’s more, is that the indexed data could be used to train AI, paving the way for conversational search and more.

 

The full article is available in German language for Spektrum.de subscribers only at: https://www.spektrum.de/news/openwebsearch-der-traum-einer-offenen-suchmaschine/2213413

 

Is Google search getting worse? New resarch says yes.

Is Google search getting worse? Many people now have impression that the search engine behemoth is no longer returning as good results as it did a few years ago. If you search for computer accessories, for example, or want to find out about travel destinations, the search results are mainly links to commercial blogs or comparison portals. And it’s not just Google that is affected; the quality of search results from Bing and DuckDuckGo also seems to be suffering from a flood of affiliate portals.

Researchers from OpenWebSearch.eu project partner Webis have now investigated this topic. Janek Bevendorff, Matti Wiegmann, Martin Potthast and Benno Stein spent over a year researching how affiliate content influences search engines. To do this, they observed Google, Bing and DuckDuckGo for a year for 7,392 product review queries. According to the study, websites that compare products and link to commercial providers are largely responsible for the deterioration of web search.

Read the summary of the study “Is Google Getting Worse? A Longitudinal Investigation of SEO Spam in Search Engines” on the Webis Group website.

Celebrating Europe Day 2024: A Call for Greater Collaboration and Digital Sovereignty

Today marks a significant moment in European history. On this day, we reflect on the signing of the Schuhmann Declaration in 1950, a pivotal event that fostered collaboration and peaceful relations between France and West Germany post-World War II, eventually expanding to include other European nations. This historic collaboration has shown us that unity is not just a counterbalance to competition, but also a means of creating emergence. However, there is a pressing need to enhance cooperation further, both in our physical and digital realms.

Europe’s Untapped Potential: A Blend of Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

Europe has the potential for excellence across many domains, and yet this potential is largely unleveraged due to the special linguistic and territorial situation we encounter.

Despite its compact size, the continent is rich with approximately 225 indigenous languages, presenting a ripe opportunity for innovation through linguistic and cultural diversity. The challenge remains to harness this diverse information and lived experiences, making them accessible to foster shared knowledge.

The Digital Challenge: Language Models and Internet Search

Predominantly, search engines and Large Language Models, which underpin generative AI, are skewed towards English, reflecting a broader trend of digital exclusion. And this is just one facet of the broader issue where non-English content often finds limited representation in internet search results.

But why is that? The root of this issue lies in the global dominance of major digital platforms. When it comes to Internet Search, currently there are only four major web indizes available—two in the United States, one in China, and one in Russia. Europe per se lacks an index of its own, that acknowledges the wealth of linguistic diversity. This gap underscores a critical lack of digital sovereignty, which could potentially stifle Europe’s societal, economic, and political progress.

Steering Towards a Solution with OWS.EU

In response to this challenge, we founded OWS.EU, a pioneering initiative aimed at developing a pan-European index that embraces our continent’s linguistic diversity. Launched in 2023, our OWLer crawler is already making strides by daily indexing websites from across Europe and beyond. As we reach the midpoint of this project, we are beginning to evaluate results from third-party collaborations, opening our infrastructure to beta testers, and continuously seeking further political and economic support.

Today, as we commemorate Europe’s past achievements, let’s also look forward to a future of enhanced collaboration and development. Celebrate Europe Day by reflecting on our shared history and the exciting possibilities ahead.

Most importantly, cave out some time today to celebrate Europe Day – both looking back and looking forward in the name of collaboration and development!