A Poem About the Future of Software
When the cost of software goes to 0, software becomes media.
When the cost of software goes to 0, everyone can make software, but not everyone does.
When the cost of software goes to 0, the 1/9/90 rule still applies. (1% create, 9% comment or remix, 90% consume.)
When the cost of software goes to 0, the cost of internet distribution goes to 0 too.
When the cost of software & internet distribution both go to 0, all that is left is human connection: trust, brand, community, laziness, identity, culture, in-group affiliations, and habit.
When the cost of software goes to 0, walled gardens lose most of their walls because everyone has access to siege ladders & grappling hooks.
When the cost of software goes to 0, the internet feels infinitely interoperable because this is what's best for consumers, and no one can stop it.
When the cost of software goes to 0, dead internet theory and dark forest theory and cozyweb ramblings feel really prescient. AI-generated media + agents make the legacy internet 100x more manipulative of your attention.
When the cost of software goes to 0, the AI research ecosystem feels more like Linux and less like Windows.
When the cost of software goes to 0, AI goes from its Model T era to its Mustang era.
When the cost of software goes to 0, synthetic user tech gets commoditized. AI gets actually good at designing software.
When the cost of software goes to 0 and synthetic user tech gets commoditized, data flywheels lose their oomph.
When the cost of software goes to 0, social media network effects disappear because coding agents interoperate between networks like a sea of vaguely illegal yet decidedly unstoppable ETL pipelines. You text our group chat on WhatsApp. I respond via voice from my Oculus Rift. Our buddy from college chimes in from his dumb phone.
When the cost of software goes to 0, opportunities for new value creation push to the extreme: the electricity layer and the media layer.
When the cost of software goes to 0, software becomes media.