finished reading Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑
Late-stage capitalism has given way to cloud-based fiefs, and we are the serfs. I need convincing on some of the detail (e.g. how effective are they at manipulating our desires?), but mostly agree with his main argument. Pairs well with Cory Doctorow's #enshittification ideas (@pluralistic).
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@WildWoila
> how effective are they at manipulating our desires?
Not as effective as they want their customers to think, as @pluralistic says. But I suspect more effective than he gives them credit for. My understanding is that it's all about the power to nudge at scale.
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Influence operations can't overwrite (most) people's minds. No amount of social media nagging will convince me to buy a McVomit burger. But the right amount might convince me to buy a vegan version of the same burger from Lord of the Fries.
Similarly, if a party has 20% support, no amount of targeted influencing will win them an election majority. But a party that can get to 45% and can afford to outbid their opponents, might be able to nudge their way to 51%.
I think you're right about scale. The effect might be marginal, such that an individual wouldn't notice, but across millions of people it adds up enough to == profit.
