Is Enshittification Inevitable?
The concept of enshittification has captured global attention, illustrating the declining user experience with digital products over the past decade. It outlines a pattern where tech giants first offer great products, then turn users into commodities for high-paying business clients, and finally squeeze these clients to maximize profits. Is this just an inevitable outcome of neoliberal capitalism on the internet, or a result of specific cultural and technological trends of the 2000s and 2010s? Drawing on his knowledge of tech history and Silicon Valley insights, Mark Rickerby delves into the causes of enshittification, explores potential optimism for the internet's future, and discusses how we can build a thriving alternative ecosystem of digital products.
Bio
Mark Rickerby is a Lecturer in the University of Canterbury’s School of Product Design. He is a creative and technical leader with more than 20 years experience delivering digital products, publishing projects, games and internal systems for high-growth startups, entrepreneurs, small businesses and government organisations in Wellington, Auckland, Berlin, Sydney and Christchurch. He is founder of Fictiveworks, a design and technology lab working in the domains of interactive narrative, creative collaboration, geophysical simulation and symbolic AI.
Event
Tuesday 10 September, 6:30pm @Cascade, 219 High Street, Christchurch Central
Also speaking at this location at 8:00pm is Clemency Montelle
