Ted Gioia provides ten reasons why all our lovely shiny technological improvements have turned into a steady stream of enshittified “updates” that reduce functionality, add unwanted “improvements” and make things significantly less reliable:
By my measure, this reversal started happening around a decade ago. If I had to sum things up in a conceptual chart, it would look like this:
The divergence was easy to ignore at first. We’re so familiar with useful tech that many of us were slow to notice when upgrades turned into downgrades.
But the evidence from the last couple years is impossible to dismiss. And we can’t blame COVID (or other extraneous factors) any longer. Technology is increasingly making matters worse, not better — and at an alarming pace.
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But I have avoided answering, up until now, the biggest question — which is why is this happening?
Or, to be more specific, why is this happening now?
Until recently, most of us welcomed innovation, but something changed. And now a huge number of people are anxious and fearful about the same tech companies they once trusted.
What caused this shift?
That’s a big issue. Unless we understand how things went wrong, we can’t begin to fix them. Otherwise we’re just griping — about bad software or greedy CEOs or whatever.
It’s now time to address the causes, not just complain about symptoms.
Once we do that, we can move to the next steps, namely outlining a regimen for recovery and an eventual cure.
So let me try to lay out my diagnosis as clearly as I can. Below are the ten reasons why tech is now breaking bad.
I apologize in advance for speaking so bluntly. Many will be upset by my frankness. But the circumstances — and the risks involved — demand it.
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal illustrates internet enshittification thusly – https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/app-5
Comment by Nicholas — August 21, 2024 @ 16:39