May Journal: Enshitiffication

I’m not the first person to admit that tech enshittification is bad. In fact, I think I’m late to the trend since every one now practically uses the term almost frequently when complaining abobut the internet. For those who are out of the loop, I’m referring to the state of the online world (a.k.a the Internet) right now that has gone downhill; more company/profit focused and less user focused.

First, is the whole generative AI bullshit. Okay, I don’t get the whole AI hype. As a tech person who is also an artist I guess AI is helpful only if you want to brainstorm something. I have numerous crazy big ideas that I’m not even sure if it’s possible to do, but asking an AI about it makes it at least approchable because it’s capable enough to give me a rough outline. Talking to a robot that I know can’t be trusted yet predict words so flawlessly to the point they start to hallucinate a concept or a functioin is fun. It’s a fun way to learn. It’s better than asking a human who might not be available 24/7 and will snarkly comment at your stupid question. Which is BAD because AI is NOT 100% accurate. You should NEVER trust whatever it is spitting without a second thought.

Nowadays the newest tech innovations feel like they’re only there to drive profit, whether it’s to cut budget (like generative AI) or to boost productivity or whatever the fuck kind of jargons these marketers usually have. One prime example is Web3. When people hear the terms Web3, Blockchain, or Cryptocurrency, they will most likely think of instant gambling sheme to get rich in one night. It pains me to tell people that hey, there are MORE than just that. If you have the time and capability to understand it, I really recommend you watch a video or read a paper explaining what blockchains actually are. They are fascinating, mathematically speaking. But even without the confusing math part, the underlying ideology behind decentralized finance, started with Bitcoin that serves as an anonymous digital currency with no governing body that might be able to deprive you from your rights by cutting your finances, is a sane enough ideology and it resonantes with a lot of people. For people with extreme threat model, these technologies help them stay safe, independent, and alive (quite literally).

However, all of these complexities are now reduced to an infinte money glitch. It’s really fucking sad in my opinion. Now people see coins as nothing more than assets like stocks to invest in. Nothing wrong with that, I suppose any alternative to fiat currency in this economy is good to keep your wealth liquid in the midst of recession or whatever the economists say nowadays. But simply understanding that crypto = big money is just….ugh….

And what the hell was that NFT fuzz all about? Do we really need that? Like, what’s the fucking purpose of that? Do they really help the average internet users out there to get something meaninful in their lives, or do they only serve the needs of the insanely reach VC that sponsored these stupid ass Web3 projects? Anyway where was I? Right, tech enshittification.

On top of your behavioral data becoming a commodity to be sold and bought by advertisers. you still need to buy premium just to get rid of ads. You don’t even own the media they claim you can access from everywhere around the world under the guise of copyright protection. People lose their ways to defy the system because the system made them complacent. They make tech easy to use, just pay a fee to be part of our ecosystem and be dependent on it your whole life. People lose nuance and technical skills to troubleshoot and repair their own shit. They start relying on something that doesn’t even have their users as their #1 priority. Oh wait, have I told you these hidden fees are a monthly/subscribe-based thing? This is not the future.

The internet doesn’t belong to the users anymore, it belongs to a group of whales who wants to speed run late stage capitalism.

Thankfully some corners of the web still respect you as a person, not as a data point. This fight is not hopeless, there are still ways for the average users to claim their lives again. Let me tell you this: you don’t need that shiny new iPhone, or that Netflix susbsription, or the blue checkmark on Twitter. Touch grass, and support projects that actually treat you like a human being. Find Open Source alternatives to big companies’ services. But be cautious when doing so because the end goal isn’t a complete reset to the stone age. Balance your plans and keep yourself sane.

Update: After a month of not visiting this journal entry, I found myself in an online training session where some of the participants use AI summarizer to summarize the meeting notes for them. I’ll just be honest that’s fucking stupid. Like you came here to learn something new, why are you delegating that task to a fucking robot?