Enshittification

Conspiracies, manipulation, fraud, and AI slop are drowning the internet, leading to what tech critic Cory Doctorow has dubbed 'enshittification'. First, the platform attracts users with bait, then the activity is monetized; then, once everyone is trapped, the platform wrings out all the value and transfers it to their executives and shareholders. The virtual gathering places where we once imagined the world's problems might be resolved are now a sewer of hatred and abuse.

Doctorow enumerates the symptoms, lays out the diagnosis, and identifies the best responses to these diseased platforms: the monopolies online must be shattered. Companies too big to fail or to jail - and much too big to care - must be cut down to size.