Cory Doctorow's 'Shitty Technology Adoption Curve' Theory: How Amazon's Treatment of Warehouse Workers Predicts Future for Coders
By
martin-t
2mo ago· 16 min readenInsight
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Summary
Cory Doctorow discusses his 'shitty technology adoption curve' theory, which posits that abusive technologies are first deployed against marginalized groups with less social power before being applied to more privileged populations. The article examines how Amazon's treatment of warehouse workers predicts the future treatment of software developers, using this framework to analyze corporate power dynamics and technological exploitation.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledMy theory of the 'shitty technology adoption curve' holds that you can predict the future impact of abusive technologies on you by observing the way these are deployed against people who have less social power than you.
When you have a new, abusive technology, you can't just aim it at rich, powerful people, because when they complain, they get results.
To successfully deploy that abusive tech, you start with people who have less power and fewer resources to resist.
Article URL: https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/13/electronic-whipping/
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47407458
Points: 20
# Comments: 4
