AI is how bosses wage war on "professions": The only people *required* to tell their bosses to fuck off.

mamot.fr/@pluralistic/11592772…

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Cory Doctorow

2026-01-20 13:45:11

Growing up, I assumed that being a "professional" meant that you were getting paid to do something. That's a perfectly valid definition (I still remember feeling like a "pro" the first time I got paid for my writing), but "professional" has another, far more important definition.

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

pluralistic.net/2026/01/20/i-w…

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Pluralistic: AI is how bosses wage war on “professions” (20 Jan 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

^{pluralistic.net}

Hey look at this

* Giving University Exams in the Age of Chatbots ploum.net/2026-01-19-exam-with…

* Vein Finder Demonstration youtube.com/watch?v=NS68ePykav…

* Author of ‘Don’t Say Abolish ICE’ Memo Is a Corporate Consultant

* Experiment suggests AI chatbot would save insurance agents a whopping 3 minutes a day theregister.com/2026/01/16/axl… (h/t Naked Capitalism)

* IMF Warns Global Economic Resilience at Risk if AI Falters slashdot.org/story/26/01/19/14…

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#20yrsago Broadcast Flag is back, this time it covers iPods and PSPs, too memex.craphound.com/2006/01/20…

#20yrsago Nonprofit alternative to CDDB gets its first deal web.archive.org/web/2006012811…

#20yrsago David Byrne: boycott DRM web.archive.org/web/2006011708…

#20yrsago Cozy blanket with sleeves: the Slanket web.archive.org/web/2006020304…

#15yrsago Safe-cracking robot autodials combinations to brute-force a high-security safe web.archive.org/web/2011070908…

5/

#15yrsago Forger never takes money, only wants to see his works hanging in galleries nytimes.com/2011/01/12/arts/de…

#15yrsago Hotel made of beach trash in Madrid smh.com.au/traveller/travel-ne…

#15yrsago Enfield, CT cancels screening of Moore’s Sicko after pressure from local gov’t web.archive.org/web/2011012303…

#15yrsago Best mafiosi nicknames from today’s historic bust web.archive.org/web/2011012612…

#10yrsago Very sad news about science fiction titan David G Hartwell memex.craphound.com/2016/01/20…

6/

#10yrsago Solving the “Longbow Puzzle”: why did France and Scotland keep their inferior crossbows? journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/…

#10yrsago Netflix demands Net Neutrality, but makes an exception for T-Mobile theverge.com/2016/1/19/1079428…

#10yrsago Research: increased resident participation in city planning produces extreme wealth segregation arstechnica.com/tech-policy/20…

7/

#10yrsago Independent economists: TPP will kill 450,000 US jobs; 75,000 Japanese jobs, 58,000 Canadian jobs techdirt.com/2016/01/19/more-r…

#10yrsago Howto: make your own fantastically detailed Star Trek: TOS bridge playset instructables.com/Star-Trek-En…

#10yrsago Strategic butt coverings in video games youtube.com/watch?v=ujTufg1GvR…

#10yrsago Company that pampers rich people at Burning Man won’t give up memex.craphound.com/2016/01/20…

#5yrsago No one should be on the No-Fly List pluralistic.net/2021/01/20/dam…

8/

#5yrsago My letter to the FBI pluralistic.net/2021/01/20/dam…

#1yrago Enshittification isn't caused by venture capital pluralistic.net/2025/01/20/cap…

#1yrago Keir Starmer appoints Jeff Bezos as his "first buddy" pluralistic.net/2025/01/22/aut…

9/

Yesterday's threads: Social media without socializing; and more!

mamot.fr/@pluralistic/11592247…

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Cory Doctorow

2026-01-19 15:31:06

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Social media without socializing; and more!

Archived at: pluralistic.net/2026/01/19/bil…

#Pluralistic

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Pluralistic: Social media without socializing (19 Jan 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

^{pluralistic.net}

My latest novel is "Picks and Shovels," a historical technothriller set in the Weird Era of the PC, about Ponzi schemes, techbros, and the dawn of enshittification:

us.macmillan.com/books/9781250…

--

My latest nonfiction book is the internationally bestselling "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," from MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux:

us.macmillan.com/books/9780374…

11/

My ebooks and audiobooks (from FSGxMCD, Tor Books, Head of Zeus, McSweeneys, Beacon, Verso and others) are for sale all over the net, but I sell 'em too, and when you buy 'em from me, I earn twice as much and you get books with no DRM and no license "agreements."

craphound.com/shop/

12/

Upcoming appearances:

* #Denver: Enshittification at Tattered Cover Colfax, Jan 22
eventbrite.com/e/cory-doctorow…

* #ColoradoSprings: Guest of Honor at COSine, Jan 23-25
firstfridayfandom.org/cosine/

* #Ottawa: Enshittification at Perfect Books, Jan 28
instagram.com/p/DS2nGiHiNUh/

* #Toronto: Enshittification and the Age of Extraction with Tim Wu, Jan 30
nowtoronto.com/event/cory-doct…

* #Victoria: 28th Annual Victoria International Privacy & Security Summit, Mar 3-5
rebootcommunications.com/event…

13/

Upcoming appearances (cont'd):

* #Berlin: Re:publica, May 18-20
re-publica.com/de/news/rp26-sp…

* #Berlin: Enshittification at Otherland Books, May 19
otherland-berlin.de/de/event-d…

* #HayOnWye: HowTheLightGetsIn, May 22-25
howthelightgetsin.org/festival…

14/

Recent appearances:

* Enshittification (Jon Favreau/Offline):
crooked.com/podcast/the-enshit…

* Why Big Tech is a Trap for Independent Creators (Stripper News)
youtube.com/watch?v=nmYDyz8AMZ…

* Enshittification (Creative Nonfiction podcast)
brendanomeara.com/episode-507-…

* A post-American, enshittification-resistant internet (39c3)
media.ccc.de/v/39c3-a-post-ame…

* Enshittification with Plutopia
plutopia.io/cory-doctorow-ensh…

15/

You can follow these posts as a daily blog at pluralistic.net: no ads, trackers, or data-collection!

Here's today's edition: pluralistic.net/2026/01/20/i-w…

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16/

I'm coming to Colorado! Catch me in #Denver on Thu (Jan 22) at The Tattered Cover:

eventbrite.com/e/cory-doctorow…

And in #ColoradoSprings this weekend (Jan 23-25), where I'm the Guest of Honor at COSine:

firstfridayfandom.org/cosine/

Then I'll be in #Ottawa on Jan 28 at Perfect Books:

instagram.com/p/DS2nGiHiNUh/

And in #Toronto with Tim Wu on Jan 30:

nowtoronto.com/event/cory-doct…

eof/

Perfect Books on Instagram: "❗BIG ANNOUNCEMENT TIME❗ We are SO excited to present author and activist Cory Doctorow as part of what we are now calling The Perfect Books Lecture Series. This event is presented in partnership with The Other Hill. We hope

Cory Doctorow, renowned science fiction author, activist, and journalist, will present his latest book, Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It, at The Perfect Books Lecture Series.

^Instagram