Large Language Models as Search Engines: Societal Challenges
This work addresses potential societal problems for LLM providers, content creators, and end users, but it is incremental as it builds on existing concerns without introducing new solutions.
The paper investigates the societal challenges that could arise if large language models (LLMs) replace search engines as the primary information portal, identifying 15 types of challenges and discussing current mitigation strategies and future research opportunities.
Large Language Models (LLMs) may one day replace search engines as the primary portal to information on the Web. In this article, we investigate the societal challenges that such a change could bring. We focus on the roles of LLM Providers, Content Creators, and End Users, and identify 15 types of challenges. With each, we show current mitigation strategies -- both from the technical perspective and the legal perspective. We also discuss the impact of each challenge and point out future research opportunities.