Ian BetteridgeMar 1

Once again, I regret to inform you that Ben Thompson is wrong about monopolies.

https://www.ianbetteridge.com/the-fundamental-error-that-doesnt-exist/

The fundamental error that doesn't exist

Ben Thompson, Another Viral AI Doomer Article, The Fundamental Error, DoorDash’s AI Advantages: What is notable about this assertion is the total denial of any positive reason for DoorDash to exist and to be so successful. There is no awareness that DoorDash provided a massive consumer benefit (restaurant food

Ian Betteridge
Show threadNick RadcliffeMar 1
@ianbetteridge Excellent piece. Ironically, Ben’s own “aggregation theory” explains well how these “aggregators” like Doordash and Google end up controlling demand and gaining power as middlemen between suppliers.
Show threadIan BetteridgeMar 1
@njr It continues to confuse me why he doesn't get this, or what the limits are that he puts on actions from a monopoly. If you win a monopoly (fair and square) does that give you carte blanche *forever* to extract value from having done so? Is there *any* onus on the company to keep delivering value at the same level? If not, what level is it before it's abusing its monopoly power?
Show threadNick RadcliffeMar 1

@ianbetteridge It is odd.

Similarly, I can understand why he thinks advertising and ad-supported services and targeting are good, especially for small businesses, (even though I’m less keen) but I don’t understand how he’s so blind to/blasé about the negative effects of surveillance capitalism, as exemplified by Facebook.

Show threadAndrew Wickliffe
@njr @ianbetteridge you're assuming he thinks those effects should be described as negative.
Mar 1 at 8:02pmWeb