AI Is Eating the Web. Same as It Ever Was.

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses how websites are blocking the wrong AI scrapers, as AI companies keep creating new ones, and how this reflects a broader pattern in American capitalism of exploiting resources without regard for long-term consequences.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Websites Blocking AI Scrapers

1. What is the key issue discussed in this section?

• The article discusses how websites are blocking the wrong AI scrapers, as AI companies keep creating new ones.
• This is seen as a reflection of a broader pattern in American capitalism of exploiting resources without regard for long-term consequences.

2. What examples does the article provide to illustrate this issue?

• The article uses the example of the public health system in the US, which was not prepared to identify, contain, or prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic, and instead had to rely on the reactive healthcare system.
• The article also draws a parallel between this and the way AI companies are exploiting the "resources" of the internet (data, media, etc.) without regard for the long-term consequences.

3. What is the author's perspective on this issue?

• The author is critical of the American approach of "act now, worry about consequences later" and the tendency to prioritize short-term profits over long-term sustainability.
• The author believes that collective action, such as government intervention, is needed to address these issues and create a more resilient and responsible system.

[02] Exploitation in American Capitalism

1. How does the article characterize the history of American capitalism?

• The article describes the history of American capitalism as a history of exploitation, where resources were exploited without regard for the collateral damage, such as pollution, disease, displacement of native peoples, and climate change.

2. How does the author see this pattern repeating with AI and the internet?

• The author draws a parallel between the exploitation of natural resources in the past and the exploitation of the "resources" of the internet (data, media, etc.) by AI companies today.
• The author believes that AI companies are hoovering up these resources without regard for the future consequences, just as past industries did with natural resources.

3. What does the author see as the solution to this issue?

• The author believes that collective action, such as government intervention, is needed to address these issues and create a more resilient and responsible system for the internet, similar to a "public health system" for the internet.
• However, the author expresses skepticism about whether the US has the will to create such a system, given the country's history of prioritizing short-term profits over long-term sustainability.