Pluralistic: The enshittification of labor (07 Nov 2025)

Today's links

The enshittification of labor: Pavlina Tcherneva, getting her peanut butter in my chocolate.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: 3D printing with tape-guns; TPP is the worst; HP ends customers' lives.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

When AI prophecy fails: Hating workers is a hell of a drug.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: SCOTUS lets the FBI kidnap Americans; Inequality perverts justice; Free the McFlurry!
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Raymond Biesinger's "9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off": A self-defense guide for creative workers.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Gingerbread Phantom Manor; Orwell estate censors 1984; The Abbadon; Ferris wheel fine dining.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Checking in on the state of Amazon's chickenized reverse-centaurs: When your shitty boss is a shitty app and you're not even allowed to call yourself an employee.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Correcting the Disneyland Railroad's Morse code; Breathalyzer source-code; Teaching Little Brother to math students; Arson attacks on Ferguson's Black churches; Tom Lehrer in the public domain.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Rage Against the (Algorithmic Management) Machine: What unions could (must!) do about app-based work.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Dieselgate for everything; Roca Labs stops gagging, Adventures of a Dwergish Girl; the Batmobile is a copyrighted character.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Trump steals $400b from American workers: You get a noncompete, and you get a noncompete, and you get a noncompete!
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Spying baby-monitors; FBI tests spy-gear at Burning Man; Little Brother optioned by Paramount; Best-paid CEOs have worst-paid workers.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Friction cannot be reduced, it can only be redistributed: The better things are for your boss, the worse they are for you.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Dr Bruce Sterling; Buddy Holly's overnight bag; Zombie postcapitalism.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Goodhart's Law (of AI): When a metric becomes a target, AI can hit it every time.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Bill Ayers graphic novel; Foxconn in India; Uber loses $4B; Warren Buffet, monopolist.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Which jobs can be replaced with AI?: Jobs that have already be degraded to the point of uselessness.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Circular batteries; Prison for file-sharing, Satanic abortions.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Bragging about replacing coders with AI is a sales-pitch: The reality is more complex.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: David Byrne vs Spotify; India's porn ban; Qanon ARG; Contextual ads; Leveraged buyouts aren't mortgages.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.