Technology

Here's an AI outline because this was actually a good talk:

• How Platforms Die

  • The speaker introduces the concept of platform decay or "enshittification" and how it leads to the death of internet platforms.
    • He defines platforms as firms like Uber, Amazon, and Facebook that connect users and business customers.
  • He outlines a 3-stage process called enshittification where platforms:
    • Are initially good to users
    • Abuse users to benefit business customers
    • Eventually abuse business customers to only benefit shareholders
  • This results in the platform becoming a "pile of shit" that dies.

• Facebook Case Study

  • He uses Facebook as a case study of enshittification's 3 stages:
    • Initially attracted users by promising privacy protections and custom feeds
    • Then broke promises and sold user data to advertisers and flooded feeds with publisher content
    • Finally, reduced value to users and fees for publishers to extract all value for shareholders
      • This led to an angry user base and brittle equilibrium

• Causes of Enshittification

  • Lack of Competition
    • Weak antitrust enforcement has allowed consolidation across industries
    • Companies can use predatory pricing to undercut competitors
    • Mergers eliminate competition
      • Example: Google relying on acquisitions rather than in-house innovation
  • Unrestricted "Backend Tweaking"
    • Tech platforms control the algorithms and systems behind their products
    • They can arbitrarily change these to alter user experiences
      • e.g. Facebook reducing visibility of publisher content in feeds
    • Done without transparency, oversight or accountability
  • Bans on Reverse Engineering
    • Laws like DMCA 1201 and CFAA criminalize circumventing DRM and terms of service
    • Makes it illegal to reverse engineer platforms to enable interoperability
    • Tech companies use IP laws to prevent modding and adversarial interoperability
      • e.g. Apple using IP laws to prevent iOS modding

• Solutions

  • Strengthen Antitrust Enforcement
    • Block anti-competitive mergers
    • Break up existing tech giants
  • Pass Privacy, Labor and Consumer Protection Laws
    • Comprehensive federal privacy laws with private right of action
    • End worker misclassification through gig economy
    • Apply consumer protection standards to platforms
  • Allow Adversarial Interoperability
    • Roll back laws criminalizing modding, reverse engineering
    • Use government procurement to incentivize open ecosystems
    • Appoint special masters to oversee platform legal threats
  • Keep Interoperators in Check
    • Bind interoperators to the same privacy, fair trading and labor laws
    • Determined through democratic process vs corporate policy

• Conclusion

  • We need to prepare and spread these policy ideas to capitalize on the next crisis
  • Efforts are underway to enable a better internet through this approach