A Star Trek parody tweet by Kyle Ferrana reimagines the classic "shields up" scene as an analogy for AI safety failures, where Data acknowledges a known risk—raising shields could reduce damage—but chooses not to act, resulting in hull breaches.
Doctorow argues that AI investment is fueled by a billionaire fantasy of a world without people—workers, migrants, artists, and friends—who resist serving their priorities. This solipsistic drive aims to replace humans with obedient chatbots and agents, reducing the rest of humanity to a surplus "unnecessariat" dependent on automation owners.
Unlike the early web, which workers eagerly adopted and forced onto bosses, today's AI requires bosses to force usage onto reluctant workers and young people. Doctorow argues AI has "dogshit unit economics," becoming less profitable per user, the opposite of the web's trajectory.
Cryptocurrency's "not your keys, not your wallet" ethos leaves holders vulnerable to violent physical attacks and irreversible theft, while public ledgers make de-anonymization easier over time. Unlike cryptography, which supports privacy and political organizing, crypto replaces regulated banks with unregulated platforms, creating extreme personal danger without traditional protections.
Ad-tech companies lie to users and advertisers alike, defrauding both. Examples include carmakers falsely claiming genetic or sexual data, and Cox Media's debunked "Active Listening" product. The article argues that even paying customers are still treated as the product in the surveillance industry.