Doctrow argues that nascent tech unionization (which we’re closer to having now than ever before) combined with bipartisan fear (and consequent regulation) either directly or via agencies like the FTC and FCC can help to curb Big Tech’s power, and the enshittification that it has wrought.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Opinion An apocryphal tale regarding the late, great footballer George Best being interviewed by a reporter just after getting suspended from Manchester United offers an apt description of today’s tech industry right now.
The Cambrian explosion of business ideas that the invention of internet produced a generation ago have ossified into rent seeking, buying out the competition, and funneling huge amounts of cash to shareholders.
Google won its place as the search champion on merit, but these days users must scroll past endless sponsored ads or SEO articles – something AI will likely make worse.
With a few small portals dominating the technology landscape and either buying out or crushing the competition, it’s looking like entrenched interests are ceasing to innovate themselves, and settling into just generating value for shareholders – customers and suppliers be damned.
Then that dream shrank to working for a few years, quitting and doing a fake startup to get hired back by your old boss in the world’s most inefficient way to get a raise," he told the Def Con crowd last August.
In the end it should be possible to reverse the current trend and reintroduce a more competitive technology industry environment that can spur innovation, spread the wealth, and grow more efficient for users, employers, and investors.
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