What Happens After the AI Hype Collapses? | In Conversation with Cory Doctorow

YouTube · Guest appearance on In Conversation · Watch/Read

• Cory Doctorow frames the future of technology, particularly after the current AI hype, as “up for grabs” and dependent on collective action and policy choices rather than predetermined outcomes, rejecting both optimism and pessimism as fatalistic.
• He explains “enshittification” as the characteristic decay of platforms: initially good for users, then locking them in, making things worse for users while tempting businesses, then locking businesses in and extracting value for the platform itself, driven by the ability to abuse users without consequence.
• Doctorow advocates for repealing laws like DMCA Section 1201 (and Europe’s Article 6 of the Copyright Directive) that criminalize reverse engineering and modification, arguing this would enable “disintermediation” and allow countries to become “export powerhouses” for tools that liberate users from vendor lock-in and geopolitical coercion.
• He warns that AI companies are “hoovering up” vast amounts of sensitive personal data (mental health, romance) from users, especially young people, who often don’t realize it’s unprotected, stressing that privacy is not impossible but requires robust regulation to prevent data retention and capture.