Book Club: En’hittification, why everything suddenly got worse...

En’hittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What To Do About It
by Cory Doctorow

https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/enshittification-4
(also available via Spotify premium)

Misogyny, conspiratorialism, surveillance, manipulation, fraud, and AI slop are drowning the internet. For the monopolists who dominate online - X, TikTok, Amazon, Meta, Apple - this is all part of the playbook. The process is what leading tech critic Cory Doctorow has dubbed en'hittification. First, the platform attracts users with some bait, such as free access; then the activity is monetized, bringing in the business customers and degrading the user experience; then, once everyone is trapped and competitors eradicated, the platform wrings out all the value and transfers it to their executives and shareholders.

Book is available at Hatchards and elsewhere.
https://www.hatchards.co.uk/book/enshittification/cory-doctorow/9781836742227

Other related books:
- Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, by Jaron Lanier
- Dark Patterns, Deceptive Design, and the Law, by M.R. Leiser
- Empire of AI: inside the reckless race for total domination, by Karen Hao
(https://xigxag.co.uk/audiobook/empire-of-ai-9781837311262/)
- Taming Silicon Valley: How to Protect Our Jobs, Safety, and Society in the Age of AI, by Gary F. Marcus (https://www.hatchards.co.uk/book/taming-silicon-valley/gary-f-marcus/9780262551069)
- The New Empire of AI: The Future of Global Inequality, by Rachel Adams
- The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech's Hype and Create the Future We Want, by Emily M. Bender
- More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley's Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity, by Adam Becker (https://open.spotify.com/show/36wi0Xfr6C5eoJnA0WCISN?si=177a406de3014913)
- Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust, by Ernest Davis
- Genius Makers: The Mavericks Who Brought A.I. to Google, Facebook, and the World, by Cade Metz

Venue
Blooms Coffee & Pizza
https://maps.app.goo.gl/Yy7etKb94vU1wC5m6
Russell Square is the closest metro (underground) station.

Book Club Rules

• Reading the book is required, even if you read a single chapter.
• Discussion is centred around the book and its theme.
• No show is not appreciated. Please sign up if you are interested in reading and discussing books. In case you cannot make it anymore to the meeting, do let us know in time.