#platformcapitalism — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #platformcapitalism, aggregated by home.social.
-
Fear and Loathing of AI (Part V): The Real Product Isn’t AI — It’s Compliance
By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News — with OpenAI ChatGPT
Every major technology claims to sell capability.
What it actually sells is behavior.
Artificial intelligence is marketed as intelligence, automation, assistance, and insight. But those are not the real product. They are the wrapper.
The real product is compliance.
From tools to rulebooks
AI systems do not merely help people work. They define how work is allowed to happen.
They decide:
- what is acceptable output,
- what counts as efficiency,
- what language is permitted,
- what pace is required,
- what deviation triggers review.
Once embedded, these systems stop being optional tools and start functioning as invisible rulebooks.
You are not just using AI.
You are being shaped by it.Normalizing the machine’s priorities
AI systems optimize for what they can measure.
That sounds neutral. It isn’t.
What gets measured becomes what matters:
- speed over care,
- volume over judgment,
- consistency over insight,
- compliance over discretion.
Human nuance becomes noise.
Context becomes friction.Over time, workers internalize this logic. They adjust themselves to match the system rather than questioning whether the system is correct.
That is not assistance.
That is conditioning.Consent by exhaustion
Most people do not choose compliance.
They accept it because resisting it is exhausting.
Opting out means:
- losing access,
- losing income,
- losing relevance,
- losing visibility.
So people adapt. Quietly. Incrementally. Rationally.
Each update narrows the corridor.
Each “improvement” reduces discretion.
Each convenience carries a hidden obligation.Eventually, compliance feels like normal work.
The illusion of neutrality
AI is often described as objective.
But every AI system encodes:
- institutional priorities,
- business incentives,
- legal risk tolerance,
- and managerial worldview.
Those values are not debated by users.
They are imposed through interfaces.When people are told “the system decided,” accountability dissolves. Authority becomes abstract. Power becomes deniable.
No one is responsible.
Everyone must comply.Why this matters more than jobs
Job loss is visible.
Compliance is subtle.A workforce that still exists but no longer questions:
- pacing,
- evaluation,
- fairness,
- or purpose
is easier to manage than one that resists.
The danger is not a future without work.
It is a future where work continues, but autonomy does not.
The quiet trade
AI offers convenience in exchange for conformity.
For many, that trade feels necessary. Sometimes it is.
But it should never be invisible.
Because once compliance is normalized, reclaiming discretion becomes almost impossible.
A line that still exists
AI can be useful without being authoritative.
It can assist without dictating.
It can serve without ruling.But that only happens when:
- systems remain accountable,
- humans retain override power,
- and institutions are forced to justify decisions.
Without those limits, AI doesn’t just change work.
It trains people to accept less agency as the price of participation.
That is not progress.
That is control, automated.
For more social commentary, please see Occupy 2.5 at https://Occupy25.com
#AIGovernance #ArtificialIntelligence #automation #compliance #futureOfWork #Labor #Occupy25 #platformCapitalism #Surveillance #technologyCritique #workplaceControl #WPSNews -
Fear and Loathing of AI (Part V): The Real Product Isn’t AI — It’s Compliance
By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News — with OpenAI ChatGPT
Every major technology claims to sell capability.
What it actually sells is behavior.
Artificial intelligence is marketed as intelligence, automation, assistance, and insight. But those are not the real product. They are the wrapper.
The real product is compliance.
From tools to rulebooks
AI systems do not merely help people work. They define how work is allowed to happen.
They decide:
- what is acceptable output,
- what counts as efficiency,
- what language is permitted,
- what pace is required,
- what deviation triggers review.
Once embedded, these systems stop being optional tools and start functioning as invisible rulebooks.
You are not just using AI.
You are being shaped by it.Normalizing the machine’s priorities
AI systems optimize for what they can measure.
That sounds neutral. It isn’t.
What gets measured becomes what matters:
- speed over care,
- volume over judgment,
- consistency over insight,
- compliance over discretion.
Human nuance becomes noise.
Context becomes friction.Over time, workers internalize this logic. They adjust themselves to match the system rather than questioning whether the system is correct.
That is not assistance.
That is conditioning.Consent by exhaustion
Most people do not choose compliance.
They accept it because resisting it is exhausting.
Opting out means:
- losing access,
- losing income,
- losing relevance,
- losing visibility.
So people adapt. Quietly. Incrementally. Rationally.
Each update narrows the corridor.
Each “improvement” reduces discretion.
Each convenience carries a hidden obligation.Eventually, compliance feels like normal work.
The illusion of neutrality
AI is often described as objective.
But every AI system encodes:
- institutional priorities,
- business incentives,
- legal risk tolerance,
- and managerial worldview.
Those values are not debated by users.
They are imposed through interfaces.When people are told “the system decided,” accountability dissolves. Authority becomes abstract. Power becomes deniable.
No one is responsible.
Everyone must comply.Why this matters more than jobs
Job loss is visible.
Compliance is subtle.A workforce that still exists but no longer questions:
- pacing,
- evaluation,
- fairness,
- or purpose
is easier to manage than one that resists.
The danger is not a future without work.
It is a future where work continues, but autonomy does not.
The quiet trade
AI offers convenience in exchange for conformity.
For many, that trade feels necessary. Sometimes it is.
But it should never be invisible.
Because once compliance is normalized, reclaiming discretion becomes almost impossible.
A line that still exists
AI can be useful without being authoritative.
It can assist without dictating.
It can serve without ruling.But that only happens when:
- systems remain accountable,
- humans retain override power,
- and institutions are forced to justify decisions.
Without those limits, AI doesn’t just change work.
It trains people to accept less agency as the price of participation.
That is not progress.
That is control, automated.
For more social commentary, please see Occupy 2.5 at https://Occupy25.com
#AIGovernance #ArtificialIntelligence #automation #compliance #futureOfWork #Labor #Occupy25 #platformCapitalism #Surveillance #technologyCritique #workplaceControl #WPSNews -
Fear and Loathing of AI (Part V): The Real Product Isn’t AI — It’s Compliance
By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News — with OpenAI ChatGPT
Every major technology claims to sell capability.
What it actually sells is behavior.
Artificial intelligence is marketed as intelligence, automation, assistance, and insight. But those are not the real product. They are the wrapper.
The real product is compliance.
From tools to rulebooks
AI systems do not merely help people work. They define how work is allowed to happen.
They decide:
- what is acceptable output,
- what counts as efficiency,
- what language is permitted,
- what pace is required,
- what deviation triggers review.
Once embedded, these systems stop being optional tools and start functioning as invisible rulebooks.
You are not just using AI.
You are being shaped by it.Normalizing the machine’s priorities
AI systems optimize for what they can measure.
That sounds neutral. It isn’t.
What gets measured becomes what matters:
- speed over care,
- volume over judgment,
- consistency over insight,
- compliance over discretion.
Human nuance becomes noise.
Context becomes friction.Over time, workers internalize this logic. They adjust themselves to match the system rather than questioning whether the system is correct.
That is not assistance.
That is conditioning.Consent by exhaustion
Most people do not choose compliance.
They accept it because resisting it is exhausting.
Opting out means:
- losing access,
- losing income,
- losing relevance,
- losing visibility.
So people adapt. Quietly. Incrementally. Rationally.
Each update narrows the corridor.
Each “improvement” reduces discretion.
Each convenience carries a hidden obligation.Eventually, compliance feels like normal work.
The illusion of neutrality
AI is often described as objective.
But every AI system encodes:
- institutional priorities,
- business incentives,
- legal risk tolerance,
- and managerial worldview.
Those values are not debated by users.
They are imposed through interfaces.When people are told “the system decided,” accountability dissolves. Authority becomes abstract. Power becomes deniable.
No one is responsible.
Everyone must comply.Why this matters more than jobs
Job loss is visible.
Compliance is subtle.A workforce that still exists but no longer questions:
- pacing,
- evaluation,
- fairness,
- or purpose
is easier to manage than one that resists.
The danger is not a future without work.
It is a future where work continues, but autonomy does not.
The quiet trade
AI offers convenience in exchange for conformity.
For many, that trade feels necessary. Sometimes it is.
But it should never be invisible.
Because once compliance is normalized, reclaiming discretion becomes almost impossible.
A line that still exists
AI can be useful without being authoritative.
It can assist without dictating.
It can serve without ruling.But that only happens when:
- systems remain accountable,
- humans retain override power,
- and institutions are forced to justify decisions.
Without those limits, AI doesn’t just change work.
It trains people to accept less agency as the price of participation.
That is not progress.
That is control, automated.
For more social commentary, please see Occupy 2.5 at https://Occupy25.com
#AIGovernance #ArtificialIntelligence #automation #compliance #futureOfWork #Labor #Occupy25 #platformCapitalism #Surveillance #technologyCritique #workplaceControl #WPSNews -
Fear and Loathing of AI (Part V): The Real Product Isn’t AI — It’s Compliance
By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News — with OpenAI ChatGPT
Every major technology claims to sell capability.
What it actually sells is behavior.
Artificial intelligence is marketed as intelligence, automation, assistance, and insight. But those are not the real product. They are the wrapper.
The real product is compliance.
From tools to rulebooks
AI systems do not merely help people work. They define how work is allowed to happen.
They decide:
- what is acceptable output,
- what counts as efficiency,
- what language is permitted,
- what pace is required,
- what deviation triggers review.
Once embedded, these systems stop being optional tools and start functioning as invisible rulebooks.
You are not just using AI.
You are being shaped by it.Normalizing the machine’s priorities
AI systems optimize for what they can measure.
That sounds neutral. It isn’t.
What gets measured becomes what matters:
- speed over care,
- volume over judgment,
- consistency over insight,
- compliance over discretion.
Human nuance becomes noise.
Context becomes friction.Over time, workers internalize this logic. They adjust themselves to match the system rather than questioning whether the system is correct.
That is not assistance.
That is conditioning.Consent by exhaustion
Most people do not choose compliance.
They accept it because resisting it is exhausting.
Opting out means:
- losing access,
- losing income,
- losing relevance,
- losing visibility.
So people adapt. Quietly. Incrementally. Rationally.
Each update narrows the corridor.
Each “improvement” reduces discretion.
Each convenience carries a hidden obligation.Eventually, compliance feels like normal work.
The illusion of neutrality
AI is often described as objective.
But every AI system encodes:
- institutional priorities,
- business incentives,
- legal risk tolerance,
- and managerial worldview.
Those values are not debated by users.
They are imposed through interfaces.When people are told “the system decided,” accountability dissolves. Authority becomes abstract. Power becomes deniable.
No one is responsible.
Everyone must comply.Why this matters more than jobs
Job loss is visible.
Compliance is subtle.A workforce that still exists but no longer questions:
- pacing,
- evaluation,
- fairness,
- or purpose
is easier to manage than one that resists.
The danger is not a future without work.
It is a future where work continues, but autonomy does not.
The quiet trade
AI offers convenience in exchange for conformity.
For many, that trade feels necessary. Sometimes it is.
But it should never be invisible.
Because once compliance is normalized, reclaiming discretion becomes almost impossible.
A line that still exists
AI can be useful without being authoritative.
It can assist without dictating.
It can serve without ruling.But that only happens when:
- systems remain accountable,
- humans retain override power,
- and institutions are forced to justify decisions.
Without those limits, AI doesn’t just change work.
It trains people to accept less agency as the price of participation.
That is not progress.
That is control, automated.
For more social commentary, please see Occupy 2.5 at https://Occupy25.com
#AIGovernance #ArtificialIntelligence #automation #compliance #futureOfWork #Labor #Occupy25 #platformCapitalism #Surveillance #technologyCritique #workplaceControl #WPSNews -
Fear and Loathing of AI (Part V): The Real Product Isn’t AI — It’s Compliance
By Cliff Potts, CSO, and Editor-in-Chief of WPS News — with OpenAI ChatGPT
Every major technology claims to sell capability.
What it actually sells is behavior.
Artificial intelligence is marketed as intelligence, automation, assistance, and insight. But those are not the real product. They are the wrapper.
The real product is compliance.
From tools to rulebooks
AI systems do not merely help people work. They define how work is allowed to happen.
They decide:
- what is acceptable output,
- what counts as efficiency,
- what language is permitted,
- what pace is required,
- what deviation triggers review.
Once embedded, these systems stop being optional tools and start functioning as invisible rulebooks.
You are not just using AI.
You are being shaped by it.Normalizing the machine’s priorities
AI systems optimize for what they can measure.
That sounds neutral. It isn’t.
What gets measured becomes what matters:
- speed over care,
- volume over judgment,
- consistency over insight,
- compliance over discretion.
Human nuance becomes noise.
Context becomes friction.Over time, workers internalize this logic. They adjust themselves to match the system rather than questioning whether the system is correct.
That is not assistance.
That is conditioning.Consent by exhaustion
Most people do not choose compliance.
They accept it because resisting it is exhausting.
Opting out means:
- losing access,
- losing income,
- losing relevance,
- losing visibility.
So people adapt. Quietly. Incrementally. Rationally.
Each update narrows the corridor.
Each “improvement” reduces discretion.
Each convenience carries a hidden obligation.Eventually, compliance feels like normal work.
The illusion of neutrality
AI is often described as objective.
But every AI system encodes:
- institutional priorities,
- business incentives,
- legal risk tolerance,
- and managerial worldview.
Those values are not debated by users.
They are imposed through interfaces.When people are told “the system decided,” accountability dissolves. Authority becomes abstract. Power becomes deniable.
No one is responsible.
Everyone must comply.Why this matters more than jobs
Job loss is visible.
Compliance is subtle.A workforce that still exists but no longer questions:
- pacing,
- evaluation,
- fairness,
- or purpose
is easier to manage than one that resists.
The danger is not a future without work.
It is a future where work continues, but autonomy does not.
The quiet trade
AI offers convenience in exchange for conformity.
For many, that trade feels necessary. Sometimes it is.
But it should never be invisible.
Because once compliance is normalized, reclaiming discretion becomes almost impossible.
A line that still exists
AI can be useful without being authoritative.
It can assist without dictating.
It can serve without ruling.But that only happens when:
- systems remain accountable,
- humans retain override power,
- and institutions are forced to justify decisions.
Without those limits, AI doesn’t just change work.
It trains people to accept less agency as the price of participation.
That is not progress.
That is control, automated.
For more social commentary, please see Occupy 2.5 at https://Occupy25.com
#AIGovernance #ArtificialIntelligence #automation #compliance #futureOfWork #Labor #Occupy25 #platformCapitalism #Surveillance #technologyCritique #workplaceControl #WPSNews -
Controls [from the archives, 9 May 2021]. Originally performed and recorded for the Modular World 1st anniversary show (8-9 May 2021) which was a massive livestream event of 33+ hrs during the pandemic lockdowns.
During the lockdown years, Modular World became one example of a fairly niche thing gathering people together worldwide to make experimental art online - when it was not possible to organize the usual small local performances - to create something positive and reach more people than they ever could individually. As the pandemic finally, thankfully, subsided, however, it seems that people went back to the enclosed local communities, and these types of global online communities lost their drive.
Also the rapidly accelerating #enshittification cycle of the past few years has buried the visibility of these kinds of communities from all major social media platforms. Of course, as Cory Doctorow ( @pluralistic ) has been pointing out for years, the enshittification of these platforms started much earlier. But somehow amid the pandemic, this niche scene still seemed to flourish, and it was only after Silicon Valley lined up to kiss the ring that the aggressive changes to the algorithms really seemed to change things.
Maybe this is correlation more than causation, but as activity at such niche scenes is often also created by fairly principled DIY-oriented people, it seems that many (myself included) have struggled with justifying why we keep feeding these platforms. This disillusionment is further exacerbated by the rise of the AI-slopmachine that will rip off all the non-commercial work from these platforms just like everything else. Online activity that gathers enough momentum to actually keep things active has in these types of niche scenes been very much dependent on instagram and youtube. Over the past few years, the visibility of this type on stuff that doesn’t try to optimise for the alorithm has plummeted.
Perhaps all of this has resulted in events such as the Modular World shows reaching fewer and fewer people. As wonderful as the promise of #Fediverse is, so far it seems that we’re very far from reaching the critical mass where it would actually start reaching new people. If the utopian enclave remains enclosed, it eventually dwindles away.
But we can try! I’m posting these weird little Johannes Karkia mini music videos and performances here bit by bit. It’s a transfer of archive, posted on insta & youtube over th years, and also new work now & then.
But also Modular World does still exist! Go check out their channel: https://www.youtube.com/live/07ErB3AjlAo?is=qr9q2pXlhWm7Hie2 (Full performance of this piece, and interview with MW’s Johno Wells there on the Modular World youtube channel and on the Johannes Karkia youtube channel [link in the bio above], audio track also on Bandcamp).
#enshittification #fediverse #modularsynth #modularworld #anniversary #liveshow #electronicmusic #modulartechno #covid19 #pandemic #darkwave #eurorackmodular #community #surveillancecapitalism #platformcapitalism #algorithm #bigtech #siliconvalley #kissthering #socialmedia #utopianenclave #utopianism