I share your frustration, but it's hard not to be pessimistic about this. Regular internet users will flock to these tools, just like they flock to social media, even though it's a clear detriment to our personal and collective well being.

If the Snowden revelations did anything is to show that people ultimately don't care about being exploited, as long as they can continue to enjoy technology. Trading convenience for privacy is not something most people would even consider.

Things will quickly spiral out of control once everyone has their personal AI assistant, that is controlled by a major corporation with government ties. It's the wet dream of any aspiring autocrat, and we're building that future.

Here we are, on a tech forum among people who work at these companies, and all we can do is type at the void. These companies continue to build products that on the surface seem enticing and useful, which is surely how they also pitch it internally so engineers that build it have a clear conscience, yet lead us to a further breakdown of society in ways we haven't imagined yet.

I'm not sure if all this is over the top, doom and gloom thinking on my part, but it feels frustrating to be part of this industry, seeing how it's tearing apart society, and having the concerns ignored and dismissed by both users and companies alike.