this post was submitted on 17 Aug 2024
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Do you understand what enshittification is? It's a slow descent over a long period. You add optional, privacy-respecting AI now, and over time, (like a decade,) it becomes more shitty until eventually all your data is opted in to centralized data harvesting or wherever.
I'm an Unlimited paid Proton user, and these new trend worry me too. Enshittification is a slow process. I watched Google turn from "Do no evil" to what they are today, and I'm too tired to want to watch the same entire process happen again to Proton.
Shouldn't we worry of enshittification when we are on the verge of, or on the descending side of trajectory?
So far they added features in a way that keeps respecting users rights, without changing their business model (which is 90% of the reason why companies enshittify BTW). Just because these products have something in common with products of companies who enshittified doesn't mean the same applies here.
Google's entire brand was built on amazing search, and now their search is awful.
Enshittification isn't a conspiracy and it's not a nefarious end-goal, it's just a descent into shittiness. Proton continuing to sideline Linux (still no Drive support, other apps are second-class, etc) is a great example.
If they were truly focused on the goal of promoting privacy, they would be wanting to prioritise the option for people to leave Windows and Mac for Linux. Instead, it seems like their goal is becoming "Offer all the things that are hot in the market right now."
🙄 I think you need to take a deep breath and count to 5 if you think there was any rage or hysteria in my very mild comment.
That's some big slippery slope fallacy. Privacy respecting AI was a highly requested feature, whether you wanted it or not.
Them adding an AI mail assistant that is completely private has nothing to do with them eventually not protecting user privacy. These things have nothing to do with each other.
AI is not inherently a privacy invading tool, its just that the majority of services offering it are free, hence them profiting off data.