We are witnessing the total meltdown of the commercial internet. Enshittification (thanks Cory Doctorow!) of social media and other large Silicon Valley-style products & services, combined with the specter of “AI” (ChatGPT, etc.) infecting every company’s efforts, has led to a rather scary inflection point. It’s getting harder and harder to work with corporations and use internet services without feeling fundamentally ethically compromised.

On the positive side, there’s a real opportunity here to rebuild an internet actually based on the values we care about—values like sustainability over the long term, avoiding the “fast growth” hype cycle mentality at the cost of a healthy ecosystem, and putting people over tech-infused greed. We can vote with our time, money, and energy by rejecting outrageous claims which do damage to the community and by supporting and contributing to projects and protocols which further a humane, creative, and safe digital world.