@pluralistic Thanks so much for writing #enshitification I really enjoyed it. Ironically, I bought a copy from my local Blackwells store assuming it was still family owned, only to discover they were bought out by Waterstones (Branes and Noble) in 2023...However, I will share in your optimism for increased regulatory control and hackery that can eventually topple the towers or PE and corporate power that fix to guide our freedom of choice.
@pluralistic Thanks so much for writing #enshitification I really enjoyed it. Ironically, I bought a copy from my local Blackwells store assuming it was still family owned, only to discover they were bought out by Waterstones (Branes and Noble) in 2023...However, I will share in your optimism for increased regulatory control and hackery that can eventually topple the towers or PE and corporate power that fix to guide our freedom of choice.
@Firesphere @pjrm @pluralistic Can also recommend "How to do nothing" by Jenny Odell! Next on my list will be a Doctorow as I'm very intrigued about all the #enshitification talk here. :)
@pjrm @pluralistic Chokepoint Capitalism sits on my bedside table, it's in line right after How To Do Nothing by Jenny Odell, and right before Enshittification (assuming Enshittification will arrive before I finished those two)
At least, that's the theory, since I have way too many books for the time I have!
@Firesphere @pjrm @pluralistic Can also recommend "How to do nothing" by Jenny Odell! Next on my list will be a Doctorow as I'm very intrigued about all the #enshitification talk here. :)
Cory Doctorow argues that Donald Trump’s tariffs may unintentionally weaken U.S. tech dominance and open a rare opportunity to reverse the “enshittification” of technology, where user-hostile practices prevail.
He urges reforming anti-circumvention laws, especially in the UK post-Brexit, to boost innovation, user control and digital sovereignty, turning economic disruption into a chance to build a better tech ecosystem.
Cory Doctorow argues that Donald Trump’s tariffs may unintentionally weaken U.S. tech dominance and open a rare opportunity to reverse the “enshittification” of technology, where user-hostile practices prevail.
He urges reforming anti-circumvention laws, especially in the UK post-Brexit, to boost innovation, user control and digital sovereignty, turning economic disruption into a chance to build a better tech ecosystem.
This was a fun read. I burst out laughing at this statement from Bosch after criticism of their products from @pluralistic
‘Worst in Show’ CES products include AI refrigerators, AI companions and AI doorbells
"earning and keeping trust with our consumers, especially in the areas of privacy and cybersecurity, is at the core of our company’s values.
https://apnews.com/article/ces-worst-show-ai-0ce7fbc5aff68e8ff6d7b8e6fb7b007d
This was a fun read. I burst out laughing at this statement from Bosch after criticism of their products from @pluralistic
‘Worst in Show’ CES products include AI refrigerators, AI companions and AI doorbells
"earning and keeping trust with our consumers, especially in the areas of privacy and cybersecurity, is at the core of our company’s values.
https://apnews.com/article/ces-worst-show-ai-0ce7fbc5aff68e8ff6d7b8e6fb7b007d
Encore une fois, le balado des décrypteurs, c'est de la balle.
Ma super découverte de 2025, sur tous les sujets de société autour de l'IA et des cryptobros. Encore une fois super émission de Radio Canada.
Itw de Cory Doctorow, qu'on attendait depuis longtemps : 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6SnSFsP-Nk&t=94
Seule chose vraiment dommage, ils ne sont pas présents dans le #fediverse...
#enshitification #merdification #canada #décrypteurs #quebec
#Enshitification is everywhere these days. I had to get new tires on my car, the old ones were not that old, but they had worn down to a depth of 5 (as in 5/32 in), which is nearly replacement depth. It turns out, they don't make the tread depth on tires nearly as deep as they used to. My "brand new" tires that I had installed last Monday are at an 8. New tires for most non-truck vehicles used to start at 11 or 12. You are supposed to change them when they are at a 4.
My wife works in auto damage, and she has been seeing this trend for the last several years. Tires are manufactured to have less longevity, but the prices haven't come down to match. Accidents that destroy tires that still have a depth higher than 8 are fun, as insurance is required to replace with like kind quality. But this is nearly impossible now, so they have to pay out an allotment for the shittier "new" tires they are forced to install.
For reference, a tread depth of 7 is only considered "Okay" as far as traction is concerned. So brand new tires starting at an 8 quickly degrade below optimal traction.
It's all about the Benjamins.
Cc: @pluralistic
Encore une fois, le balado des décrypteurs, c'est de la balle.
Ma super découverte de 2025, sur tous les sujets de société autour de l'IA et des cryptobros. Encore une fois super émission de Radio Canada.
Itw de Cory Doctorow, qu'on attendait depuis longtemps : 👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6SnSFsP-Nk&t=94
Seule chose vraiment dommage, ils ne sont pas présents dans le #fediverse...
#enshitification #merdification #canada #décrypteurs #quebec
#Enshitification is everywhere these days. I had to get new tires on my car, the old ones were not that old, but they had worn down to a depth of 5 (as in 5/32 in), which is nearly replacement depth. It turns out, they don't make the tread depth on tires nearly as deep as they used to. My "brand new" tires that I had installed last Monday are at an 8. New tires for most non-truck vehicles used to start at 11 or 12. You are supposed to change them when they are at a 4.
My wife works in auto damage, and she has been seeing this trend for the last several years. Tires are manufactured to have less longevity, but the prices haven't come down to match. Accidents that destroy tires that still have a depth higher than 8 are fun, as insurance is required to replace with like kind quality. But this is nearly impossible now, so they have to pay out an allotment for the shittier "new" tires they are forced to install.
For reference, a tread depth of 7 is only considered "Okay" as far as traction is concerned. So brand new tires starting at an 8 quickly degrade below optimal traction.
It's all about the Benjamins.
Cc: @pluralistic
I'm super-excited to be starting the year off with Enshitification by @pluralistic . It's stark reality, vitally important, and very timely. I'm lucky my hold at the library was as short as it was (about three weeks) because as great as the information in the book is so far, I feel like it's going to be out of date in about six months. #FridayReads #AmReading #NonFiction #Enshitification #CoryDoctorow #Books #Bookstodon @bookstodon
I'm super-excited to be starting the year off with Enshitification by @pluralistic . It's stark reality, vitally important, and very timely. I'm lucky my hold at the library was as short as it was (about three weeks) because as great as the information in the book is so far, I feel like it's going to be out of date in about six months. #FridayReads #AmReading #NonFiction #Enshitification #CoryDoctorow #Books #Bookstodon @bookstodon
Wow.. This is timely, i finished @pluralistic 's book #enshitification yesterday and today this pops up on my masto feed. Pretty shameful. I'm not sure if there's really a chance it'll get taken down. so i'll use my comically long character limit for good here.
Originally posted at https://www.reddit.com/r/confession/s/P3zG0fI7sr
"I’m posting this from a library Wi-Fi on a burner laptop because I am technically under a massive NDA. I don’t care anymore. I put in my two weeks yesterday and honestly, I hope they sue me. I’ve been sitting on this for about eight months, just watching the code getting pushed to production, and I can’t sleep at night knowing I helped build this machine.
You guys always suspect the algorithms are rigged against you, but the reality is actually so much more depressing than the conspiracy theories. I’m a backend engineer. I sit in the weekly sprint planning meetings where Product Managers (PMs) discuss how to squeeze another 0.4% margin out of "human assets" (that’s literally what they call drivers in the database schemas). They talk about these people like they are resource nodes in a video game, not fathers and mothers trying to pay rent.
First off, the "Priority Delivery" is a total scam. It was pitched to us as a "psychological value add." Like I said in the title, when you pay that extra $2.99, it changes a boolean flag in the order JSON, but the dispatch logic literally ignores it. It does nothing to speed you up.
We actually ran an A/B test last year where we didn't speed up the priority orders, we just purposefully delayed non-priority orders by 5 to 10 minutes to make the Priority ones "feel" faster by comparison. Management loved the results. We generated millions in pure profit just by making the standard service worse, not by making the premium service better.
But the thing that actually makes me sick—and the main reason I’m quitting—is the "Desperation Score." We have a hidden metric for drivers that tracks how desperate they are for cash based on their acceptance behavior.
If a driver usually logs on at 10 PM and accepts every garbage $3 order instantly without hesitation, the algo tags them as "High Desperation." Once they are tagged, the system then deliberately stops showing them high-paying orders. The logic is: "Why pay this guy $15 for a run when we know he’s desperate enough to do it for $6?" We save the good tips for the "casual" drivers to hook them in and gamify their experience, while the full-timers get grinded into dust.
Then there is the "Benefit Fee." You’ve probably seen that $1.50 "Regulatory Response Fee" or "Driver Benefits Fee" that appeared on your bill after the recent labor laws passed. The wording is designed to make you feel like you're helping the worker.
In reality, that money goes straight to a corporate slush fund used to lobby against driver unions. We have a specific internal cost center for "Policy Defense," and that fee feeds directly into it. You are literally paying for the high-end lawyers that are fighting to keep your delivery guy homeless.
And regarding tips, we're essentially doing Tip Theft 2.0. We don't "steal" them legally anymore because we got sued for that. Instead, we use predictive modeling to dynamically lower the base pay.
If the algo predicts you are a "high tipper" and you’ll likely drop $10, it offers the driver a measly $2 base pay. If you tip $0, it offers them $8 base pay just to get the food moved. The result is that your generosity isn't rewarding the driver; it’s subsidizing us. You’re paying their wage so we don't have to." https://social.lansky.name/@hn50/115823935915289539