I recently saw Technology Connections guy on Bluesky mention how people have forgotten to curate their online experiences, and in many cases prefer to get media delivered to them in a pre curated form.

Not only does this take away agency, it makes it a less interesting part of the media and consumer journey. Gone are the days of discovering artists on /mu/ or soulseek or mix tapes borrowed from your older sibling. You get what spotify thinks you will like.

Piracy is a great exercise in curation. You have limited space, you only download what you need and like. You most often get better quality. You get to be a part of community.

These are ‘soft benefits’ that don’t necessarily have a monetary upside but can still be a positive experience.

In addition to this, remember that Internet companies took away your privacy. The upcoming AI revolution is being pushed to take away your agency. AI will do the research and buy things for you while you have little choice in the decision. This is why the push for AI, not because of worker productivity gains.

Few years ago, regulations around privacy forced Google into a corner and they had to start phasing out third party cookies. Tech companies came up with ways to continue harvesting user data either from the metaverse or through some other walled gardens online.

AI will make user tracking obsolete. Marketing on reddit doesn’t need cookies, we can already tell what consumers like based on what communities they are part of. This will get worse with AI tools. This is why reddit stock moon’d.