🔥 Caveat Emptor

“AI Won’t Replace You…Your Boss Might.”

Many of you know that when I read something, I often incorporate it into posts, feeds, or even my Substack.

I am currently reading Fintech Dystopia by Hilary Allen, which discusses Silicon Valley and their “rent-seeking” of the public.

I am not a Luddite, far from it. Hell, I’m typing this on a wireless keyboard and a Mac Mini while simultaneously working across multiple screens. I engage with technology daily.

But what we are currently being sold, in my opinion, is far from revolutionary.

I have yet to finish her book, but even Chapter 1 speaks directly to me. It highlights how quickly the public—and Silicon Valley itself—rushes to label something as “revolutionary” and necessary to improve our lives.

She mentions names like Sam Bankman-Fried and Elizabeth Holmes, and even companies like Juicero. Many of you may not remember Juicero, it was a company that created a machine to squeeze juice packets for you, marketed as revolutionary and sold at a premium price.

People quickly realized… you could do the same thing with your hands.

Funny how that works.

Silicon Valley is quick to tell us that these innovations will increase productivity and allow people to work less while becoming more efficient.

I’m not the smartest guy in the room—like the Enron executive… satire—but I do understand capitalism.

Does anyone truly believe capitalism stops at “more productivity”?

If there is time left on the clock, capitalism—by design—will find a way to fill it. The goal is always to create, produce, and extract more within the same timeframe.

The Valley is at it again, selling us AI as something we cannot live without. It’s supposed to be revolutionary. It’s supposed to take jobs.

Again, I’m not a Luddite but I read a lot, and this feels like another version of the same story, where most of the money ends up in the hands of a few, while wealth inequality continues to widen.

Jobs at the lower end will undoubtedly be replaced, not in the name of efficiency, but in the name of profits.

How many of us have been on a call just trying to reach a human?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pressed zero, said “operator,” or just yelled “human” into the phone.

What they call efficiency has often become a major drag.

But guess what… it’s cheap.

Silicon Valley and technology don’t truly care about efficiency the way they market it. Everything is driven by cost.

Reduce cost. Increase margins. That’s the win.

Customer experience? Secondary.

And over time, people just learn to live with it, especially when they’re conditioned to believe it’s for their benefit, not the company’s.

These names may not ring a bell: Caroline Ellison, Charlie Javice, and Lucas Duplan.

At one point, they were celebrated. Forbes 30 Under 30. The next big thing.

Now? Disgraced. Some in prison. Massive fraud cases.

Tech is filled with graveyards but we just don’t talk about them enough.

In her book, she references an insightful quote from Cory Doctorow:

“AI can’t do your job, but an AI salesman can convince your boss to fire you and replace you with a chatbot that can’t.”

That’s the industry in a nutshell.

People are being convinced that their jobs can be done better by machines—not because they can, but because others want to believe they can. And more importantly, they fear being left behind if they don’t act.

And that’s why this works.

Silicon Valley is exceptional at selling fear.

In a capitalist system, profits drive decisions. If you fall behind, your business risks becoming irrelevant.

The Valley knows this.

So they sell the future.

AI chat tools. Tax software. Proposal generators.

Often no better than what already exists, but sold on what they might become, not what they are today.

Again, I’m not a Luddite. But I read, and this book has sparked something.

These companies are excellent at sales—that’s what they do. They also excel at convincing regulators not to step in, all in the name of productivity and progress.

They use words like “democratization”—we see it with crypto—to confuse and avoid regulation. They position themselves as the solution to wealth inequality…

While often just creating new ways to extract wealth from people hoping they’ve found their way in.

Caveat Emptor.

With each new “innovation,” we take a step forward… only to often end up in the same place.

Trains, planes, automobiles: they revolutionized transportation.

Telegraphs, phones, computers: they revolutionized communication.

Yet somehow, it all leads back to the same place.

Connectivity.