Ctrl-Alt-Elite: The Code That Crushed Capitalism
How Big Tech’s Algorithms Hijacked Labor, Profit, and Privacy (Part 1)
The Morning Routine: A Glimpse into Our Algorithm-Driven Lives
I wake up and decide to play music as I start my morning routine. I’m hit with an ad from SoundCloud and a notification: for 12.99 a month, all the ads they’re putting in my face will go away. I pay the 12.99 monthly fee to go ad-free. I step onto my walking treadmill, log into my computer, and as I go to listen to my morning Nipsey Hussle motivation on YouTube, I’m once again hit with an ad and an offer—for a small fee, the ads will disappear. I don’t pay this time and watch the ad in full. When I return to the homepage, the algorithm handpicks videos for me based on the mass amount of data points Google has collected. I click on one and continue paying the “cloud gods” with my time as I sit through more ads.
Black Mirror’s Prophetic Vision: Ads, Algorithms, and Dystopia
In Black Mirror Season 1’s episode “Fifteen Million Merits,” you follow a man in a dystopian future where humans ride stationary bikes to earn currency. Content and algorithm-driven ads are constantly shoved in their faces—unless they pay to remove them. It’s scary how much my morning routine mirrors that episode.
Post-Pandemic Shifts: Algorithms Over Labor and Profit
Five years since the Covid pandemic, its effects on society are still unfolding. One stark change? Algorithms now hold more value than labor and profit.
“Ahhh, that’s doubt in your head—I can hear it.” Let’s break it down: Until recently, Tesla’s stock price was higher than any other American carmaker’s. Did they borrow from banks or investors? No. They relied on government subsidies and interest-free loans from pandemic policies. Elon Musk also didn’t need to sell shares to raise funds, as his wealth is tied almost exclusively to Tesla stock. So, the company must be generating insane profits? Nope!
Tesla’s Algorithmic Edge: Data Over Profits
The markers of success under capitalism don’t apply to Tesla. Why? Tesla is the only carmaker with a robust algorithm that collects mass-scale data from drivers and passengers. Anything you’d want to know about what someone does in their car, a Tesla will gladly provide. Labor, money, and profit simply don’t matter to Tesla. “Hey Alexa, what’s Tesla’s current stock price?”
Alexa: Your Data-Collecting ‘Assistant’
Alexa isn’t your friend or personal assistant. She’s a data-collecting, habit-shaping cloud agent—an algorithm by Amazon, for Amazon. She never turns off and never stops listening, reporting, and collecting data on your every move at home. While you “train” her for free—sharing your grocery list, setting alarms, revealing your music taste, home temperature, and bedtime routines—she is clocking it all. Once she gathers enough, she starts serving Amazon’s interests: suggesting products, recommending recipes, and shaping habits to maximize your spending. Why hire a marketing team when an algorithm can tailor pitches from inside your home?
AI Takes Over: The Decline of Human Management
Amazon no longer needs a giant marketing budget—or even managers. They recently announced layoffs of 1,400 managers this year, saving $2.1 billion annually. Think middle management is soul-crushing? Try an AI boss. ChatGPT will be your next supervisor. Algorithms and technology are becoming intrusive extensions of ruling-class agendas, designed to extract every drop of productivity—and humanity—from workers.
Stay tuned for part 2: algorithms and social media.
Stay woke,
Loc
