Blaming the internet for what is wrong with society is like blaming the mirror because you do not like what you see.
In this episode of Shimmy Says, Alan Shimel reacts to a conversation between Ezra Klein, Cory Doctorow, and Tim Wu about how the web shifted from connection to extraction. Doctorow calls it enshittification. Platforms begin by serving users, pivot toward advertisers, and ultimately prioritize shareholders. Value moves upward. Experience degrades.
The diagnosis is not wrong.
But here is the harder truth.
The internet did not wake up and decide to ruin society. It amplified what we rewarded. Outrage spreads because it works. Engagement dominates because we respond to it. Incentives follow behavior.
Now artificial intelligence is entering the same economic structures.
The question is not whether AI will follow the same path. The question is who says no and when.
Builders, founders, operators, and leaders do not get to pretend they are just users anymore. We already know what happens when incentives drift unchecked. Extraction replaces trust. Growth replaces responsibility. Power concentrates.
At some point, governance enters the conversation. Regulation is not about killing innovation. It is about accountability when platforms shape what billions of people see, believe, and buy.
The mirror is not the enemy.
The reflection is the warning.
Watch the full episode of Shimmy Says and decide what you are willing to change.