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Zeitgeist — a spike by Chris Gathercole
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AI and the Enshittification Era

YouTube · ~1h41m · Guest appearance on The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart · YouTube

  • Discusses his book “The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI,” separating AI hype from actual capability — argues genuine capability may not even matter to how the product gets sold to investors and consumers.
  • Frames AI as amplifying three pre-existing societal problems rather than solving anything: surveillance expansion, labor exploitation, and corporate consolidation.
  • Introduces “enshittification” to a mainstream audience — platforms degrade over time as companies shift priority from users to business customers to shareholders.
  • Broader conversation with Stewart on the disconnect between AI industry investment scale and demonstrated real-world capability.