The Coming Enshittification of AI

Will AI follow internet search and e-commerce down the path of enshittification, or can we finally have nice things?

Authors

  • James Ryan The Journal of Business and Artificial Intelligence Author

Keywords:

AI Agents, Artificial Intelligence, Enshittification, Path Dependence, Micropayments, Chatbots, ChatGPT, Gemini, Bard, Google, OpenAI, Perplexity

Abstract

Will AI serve the vast majority of internet users by making it easier to find the information, products or services they are looking for without having to wade through a cesspool of sponsored results, fake reviews, and inefficient interfaces? Or will it usher in an even worse internet, where AI is used to generate individualized content on the fly that is so subtly fine-tuned to steer users towards sponsored content that they don’t even notice they are being manipulated?

I wrote this piece to expand on Cory Doctorow’s concept of “enshittification,” a term he uses to describe how internet platforms inevitably go from being user-focused to monetizing every aspect of the experience, and ultimately cannibalizing their own users and business customers before collapsing. I argue that generative AI tools like ChatGPT succeed so spectacularly because they’re still in the early phase—where they provide straightforward, ad-free answers that genuinely help people, rather than steering them into sponsored links or frustrating search results. Google, despite inventing the very transformer technology ChatGPT relies on, illustrates the classic “Innovator’s Dilemma” by clinging to its advertising model instead of letting a truly disruptive new product thrive.

By the end, I share my vision of what could replace today’s stagnating platforms. I imagine a future where AI “buyer’s agents” and “seller’s agents” allow individuals and businesses to interact seamlessly, without user-hostile tactics driven by ad revenue. Sure, that may sound optimistic—enshittification has a lot of momentum behind it—but if AI can help us sidestep the entrenched models that drive pointless friction, maybe we can nudge the internet toward a genuinely user-centric environment.

Author Biography

  • James Ryan, The Journal of Business and Artificial Intelligence

    James Ryan holds a master's degree in behavioral sciences from Osaka University and a bachelor's in East Asian languages from Harvard University. He has over 30 years of experience building and running global P&Ls for high-tech startups and has focused on leveraging technology to optimize operational efficiency and revenue growth. He has worked in 39 countries and is a native speaker of Japanese and English. He is also Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Farpoint Ventures and Chief Revenue Officer of biotech startup Epicore Biosystems. He has been a Mentor at the Harvard Innovation Labs for the past eight years.

AI traders trade stock on the floor of the stock exchange

Published

2024-12-30

Issue

Section

Commentaries