I don't remember when I first noticed it, but I'm sure I've been subconsciously aware of it for many years. It must have been in the late 90s or early 00s, and the observation certainly came from outside sources, but since then I have repeatedly sought confirmation and realization of it and brought it to my attention: More and more is becoming more and more the same.
I first noticed this trend in the standardization of our city centers. The shops, restaurants, and shopping experience in general hardly differ anymore in cities of similar size in our country. I suspect that the situation is no better in other countries. One symptom of capitalism is therefore the convergence of transaction environments into a manageable, highly interchangeable, but at the same time extremely comfortable, closed world. But perhaps this is also part of the evolutionary theory of capitalism, and all the special, individual species were simply not fit enough to survive. Or is it us, the consumers, who no longer create space and demand for niches?
The world of material goods and services was the first to be affected, and it didn't take long for the subsequent grand experiment known as the “internet” to follow suit. The crazy, chaotic world wide web is now a thing of the past, having survived for no more than a decade or two at most. Everything looks so uniform and boring now, with Big Tech maximizing profits on all sides. Sure, there are still creative exceptions and nerdy niches that defy the big trend toward conformity. But it doesn't feel as good as it used to; it's no longer an encounter on equal terms, but rather every visit to such websites leaves you with a sense of melancholy and nostalgia.
First the material world, then the internet. But it gets worse. Two other modern technologies are promoting the enforced conformity of our social interactions. These technologies are easy to name: smartphones and social media. And now, at the latest, it is dawning on us that the idea and concept of bringing into line can also be the preparation of other concepts. How about “surveillance,” “subjugation,” “exploitation”?
We're not stopping here. No, for three years now, we've had a new player at the table who is doing his job perhaps even more thoroughly, comprehensively, and irreversibly than anything we've experienced before. This player is everything that is now lumped together under the term “AI,” but essentially refers to LLM, or large language models, and their multimedia counterparts. The great danger I see is that, similar to smartphones and social media, forced conformity is directly affecting human abilities, now more intellectual than social. The more it becomes accepted that people should build up their knowledge through the use of AI or, later, if still possible, apply it, the more dull, shallow, and uniform it will become. Since humans are lazy by nature and AI is designed for maximum convenience, similar to the shopping malls of the past, there will be little resistance across the board. It will be exciting to see to what extent the economy can really claim productivity gains, or whether the actual, essential benefits will remain limited to a few special cases. Many financial investors are betting on the former, but I still believe that the bubble that has been created will burst. But I may also be wrong, which would be good for capitalism but pretty bad for us humans.
Even if AI cannot deliver the promised productivity gains, it still has the potential and effectiveness to dominate humans as a productive force and manipulate them in the interests of what used to be called capitalists, but today would probably be called techno-feudalists. Among other things, this manipulation takes place through conformity.
As soon as knowledge can no longer fly freely and cross-pollinate (which was precisely the magic of the early Internet), but is instead algorithmically controlled and processed for application — not for reflection — we find ourselves on the road back to darker times. So what can be done about it? Resistance, education, and maintaining common sense would be a start. Who has other, better, or more effective ideas?