Some positive ish speculation
So hear me out.AI mania is going to create a massive counter-market.
Right now, big money is chasing AI hype, but with every new advancement, unease and paranoia are growing among many consumers.The more convincing generative AI becomes. The more normalized things like AI surveilance or customer service chat bots that conveniently understand everything but refund and subscription cancellation. The larger this demographic will become.
This is happening alongside a growing hunger for an internet that doesn’t rely on attention economics. You can already see the signs: BlueSky adoption. Y2K nostalgia is trending, and the indie web revival while kind of directionless are signs of something unrealized.
I think these demographics will continue to grow, and eventually, they’ll be big enough to justify a massive anti-AI market. Picture human- and community-centered web spaces and apps with business models similar to Discord’s—business models that don’t reward low-effort engagement like impressions or views. In this environment, AI spam would be useless for making money on its own.
AI circumvention and disruption could become common topics of conversation outside the usual tech-enthusiast circles, especially as AI becomes more politicized. Of course, there will still be people lining up to hand Elon and Sam their medical records, but plenty of people do care where the stuff they consume comes from. There are countless consumer movements throughout history to prove this to be true.
My hope is that this happens sooner. and not later after, publicly Traded companies and government institutions start to feel the negative effects of AI abuse by the general public. And instead of reasonable measured solutions we get . Extreme facsist solutions that further erode access to information and privacy online.