Today’s links Gig apps trap reverse centaurs in wage-stealing Skinner boxes: Twiddled to death through algorithmic wage discrimination. Hey look at this: Delights to delectate. This day in history: 2008, 2018, 2022 Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading Gig apps trap reverse centaurs in wage-stealing Skinner boxes (permalink) Enshittification is the process by which digital platforms devour themselves: first they dangle goodies in front of end users. Once users are locked in, the goodies are taken away and dangled before business customers who supply goods to the users. Once those business customers are stuck on the platform, the goodies are clawed away and showered on the platform’s shareholders: https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog: https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/12/algorithmic-wage-discrimination/#fishers-of-men Enshittification isn’t just another way of saying “fraud” or “price gouging” or “wage theft.” Enshittification is intrinsically digital, because moving all those goodies around requires the flexibility that only comes with a digital businesses. Jeff Bezos, grocer, can’t rapidly change the price of eggs at Whole Foods without an army of kids with pricing guns on roller-skates. Jeff Bezos, grocer, can change the price of eggs on Amazon Fresh just by twiddling a knob on the service’s back-end. Twiddling is the key to enshittification: rapidly adjusting prices, conditions and offers. As with any shell game, the quickness of the hand deceives the eye. Tech monopolists aren’t smarter than the Gilded Age…Pluralistic: Gig apps trap reverse centaurs in wage-stealing Skinner boxes (12 Apr 2023)