This is not the future

Inevitability vs Agency

• Many commenters reject “this is inevitable” as a rhetorical cudgel that shuts down criticism and absolves responsibility.
• Others argue that, in practice, powerful actors plus apathetic majorities make many outcomes functionally inevitable, even if alternative paths are possible “in theory.”
• Distinction is drawn between:
  • Existence of a tech (someone will build it) vs
  • Compulsory adoption (being unable to live a normal life without it).
• Some say the article underplays how hard coordination is: without strong regulation or collective action, undesirable equilibria (e.g. surveillance, addictive apps) tend to win.

Capitalism, Incentives, and Game Theory

• A large thread ties “inevitability” to unfettered capitalism: profit-maximization and ad-driven models push toward enshittification and attention capture.
• Game theory is invoked: people and firms respond to incentives; unless incentives change, similar patterns recur (social media, crypto, AI hype).
• Several argue game theory is an oversimplified model of messy human behavior; others counter that even if our models are incomplete, incentive structures still dominate outcomes.

AI’s Role and “Inevitable” Adoption

• One camp: AI in coding and products is as paradigm-shifting as the internet or industrialization; resisting it is likened to rejecting electricity.
• Opposing camp: current LLMs are overhyped, brittle, energy-intensive, and mainly serve corporate power; inevitability is being used to normalize slop and centralization.
• Some pragmatic takes: AI tools are already extremely useful for bootstrapping code/UI, but must remain optional with robust “dumb” fallbacks because of failure modes and unpredictability.
• Several note that adoption is already widespread in subtle ways (search result summaries, design tools), making “just say no” harder.

Art, Creativity, and Ethics

• Strong disagreement over AI-generated art:
  • Critics see it as built on uncompensated scraping, eroding livelihoods, and producing hollow “content” without human intent.
  • Supporters argue all art is derivative; AI is just a more efficient remix engine and can expand creative expression, especially with open models.
• A recurring ethical fault line: who benefits—working artists or data-center owners? Compensation, consent, and control over training data are central concerns.

Hostile Tech, UX Volatility, and Locked-Down Platforms

• Many resonate with the blog’s list: locked-down phones, constant UI rearrangements, “smart” everything, and ID requirements are experienced as hostile and disempowering.
• Frustration is high with OS changes that invalidate years of muscle memory, especially for less technical users and older people.
• Some argue this trajectory is not inevitable but driven by platform control, ad models, and growth incentives; others note that big firms have learned not to repeat IBM’s openness “mistake.”

Ads, Attention, and Business Models

• Several see advertising as the root of much tech abuse: tracking, dark patterns, addictive design, and closed APIs all flow from monetizing attention.
• Others claim ads (and some form of monetized attention) are effectively inevitable in a capitalist internet, even if specific implementations could be regulated or restricted.
• There’s a sense that ad volume is rising while effectiveness and trust collapse, pushing platforms to ever more intrusive practices.

Historical Contingency and Near-Misses

• Commenters offer historical “near-misses” (wars, political successions, corporate decisions) to support the idea that history could easily have gone differently.
• The analogy is extended: TikTok, NFTs, or LLMs as dominant forms weren’t preordained; what feels inevitable is often the accumulated result of many contingent choices.

Resistance, Alternatives, and Limits

• Proposed responses include: regulation (especially in education and government procurement), supporting open source / federation, jailbreak ecosystems, and cultivating norms that reject abusive products.
• Others are pessimistic: volunteer labor and niche OSes can’t offset structural incentives and captured regulators.
• A more modest consensus: inevitability talk is dangerous because it numbs conscience; even if we can’t halt trends, we can shape their impact and keep real alternatives alive.