Surf's Up

Once upon a time, we were "surfing the internet". I think it can be seen as a precursor to "Googling". It stems from the time when the internet was something we actively sought out, for half an hour at a time. I remember how the landline had to be disconnected, the computer made fax-like screeching sounds, and I had intense negotiations with my parents about being allowed to play online for ten more minutes.

My generation grew up alongside the internet. We started life without being connected, an analog existence with landline phones. Then came our teenage years and, with them, Facebook and broadband. Today it's the disconnection we have to seek out. Bragging posts on LinkedIn talk about digital detox, and how good we're going to be next week, on holiday without social media. I noticed it myself; how I looked forward to getting to the cabin, like it was a valid reason for putting my phone away and just read a book! Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. Because there's one thing that has remained stable and recognizable since the internet appeared: The browser.

But that's all changing.

Renewed surfing

After relying on Apple's Safari as my browser for well over a decade, I've spent the past week testing a new browser. The Browser Company of New York has previously had great success with the Arc browser. A popular move was shifting the tab overview from the top, as we all know it, to the left side of the screen. Additionally, Arc lets you design and customize the browser's appearance in a completely different way than before.

The company is now betting everything on Dia. The new browser isn't publicly available, but after some work I managed to get my hands on early access. Even browsers aren't able to escape the hype that comes with generative artificial intelligence. And I must admit that using an AI browser has left me wanting more!

New ways to browse

It took some time for me to get used to Dia. Since this is an early version, I can't transfer all saved usernames and passwords, so it was a bumpy start to the exploration. To understand how Dia can help, I wanted to use it the way I normally use Chrome or Safari.

In the browser setup, you can let Dia be inspired by people or brands you like. In practice, this means that when you chat with Dia, the responses can reflect the perspectives or writing styles of the people and companies you've specified. The goal is to make the conversation as relevant as possible for you and how you prefer to digest information. By answering the questions, Dia can become your personal browser, exactly the way you prefer.

The biggest difference from regular browsers like Chrome, Safari, and Firefox is that Dia can retrieve information from other tabs you have open:

When I clicked on a YouTube video, I could open a new tab in Dia and easily reference the video. I asked it to summarize the 40-minute video in seven bullet points, to see if it was relevant for me. And it did a good job there. But it comes with an aftertaste - because suddenly I let AI decide whether a video was relevant for me or not. How can I ensure that the summary Dia gives me is correct, without having watched the video myself? At the same time, it makes boring things a bit more efficient. Who hasn't sat with a dozen tabs of different hotels open while trying to choose which one to book? Dia did a good job ranking these based on price, location, and what type of hotel I was looking for.

Mini deep dive

Additionally, there's a small chat button at the top right when you visit a website. It's there regardless of which site you visit. At first, I forgot to use it. But as I started using Dia as my daily browser, the button was used increasingly frequently. So far, the usage hasn't resulted in anything revolutionary. But there's a parliamentary election coming up here in Norway in September, so I tried having it summarize various themes in the different parties' platforms. It worked fine, and can be an additional tool (but watch out for hallucinations) before you head to the cast your vote.

My favorite function is Dia Skills. Skills are supposed to be shortcuts you can save in the browser. You can create these yourself, or download them from the Skills gallery. Here you can create all sorts of modes for the browser. Going to study? Then OpenAI's Study Mode might be smart. Want help with marketing? There's a Dia Skill for that too.

OpenAI joins in

Earlier this year, AI company Perplexity launched its own browser, Comet. They have a waiting list and to be able to join it, you need the most expensive subscription with Perplexity, which is $200 per month. The reviews so far have been good. Comet seems to take AI integration another step further: Where Dia can compare hotels for you, Comet can use AI agents and book the hotel for you. But again, $200 per month for the opportunity to be on a waitlist...

A lot is going to happen on the browser front in the second half of 2025. As I write this, Microsoft has thrown itself into the browser battle. Much-maligned Microsoft Edge has been spruced up, and should be able to do much of the same as both Dia and Perplexity. Through voice function, you can talk to the browser, and eventually get it to perform actions - just like Perplexity's Comet. Additionally, there are rumors that OpenAI is launching its own browser shortly. What Edge, Comet, and an OpenAI browser have in common is that they'll all be agentic and turn the browser into an assistant and helper.

Becoming the biggest browser is profitable. Alphabet, Google's parent company, has benefited from the user data that Chrome has had access to. Ad sales make up about 75% of Google's revenue. There's no reason to believe that user data will become less valuable going forward. It may also be that the browser is what maces AI a natural part of our workflow and daily habits online.

Whatever the future holds, no doubt we will be using browsers differently.

Panama Playlist

Wondering what kind of music Sam Altman listens to? What makes US Vice President JD Vance groove? Instagram CEO Walt Mosseri's guilty pleasures? Finally you can find out, thanks to the website Panama Playlist, a spin on the Panama Papers scandal, where someone has extracted several well-known politicians' and tech leaders' playlists.

And who would have thought that US Attorney General Pam Bondi, known for promising to release the much-discussed list in the Jeffrey Epstein case, would have "Hot in Herre" by Nelly as her most played song?

Not me.

World's oldest baby

On July 26, baby Thaddeus Daniel Pierce was born in Ohio. The embryo was frozen in 1994. Thus, little Thaddeus has become the world's oldest baby. According to The Times, there could be millions of embryos stored in freezers around the world.

The embryo belonged to a woman in her 60s who froze the embryo more than 30 years ago. When she heard about embryo adoption, a form of donation usually arranged by Christian organizations in the US, she agreed to give them away to families who needed them.

OpenAI to Norway

Suddenly, Norway has a small stake in the AI race. OpenAI - along with Norwegian companies Aker and Nscale - have founded Stargate Norway and will build data centers in Narvik, with an investment of $1 billion.