The biggest tech threat to creators is not ChatGPT

Obviously, the airwaves are dominated with news and observations about ChatGPT, especially when it comes to creativity and jobs.

However, I think the bigger threat to creators is something else. And it’s already here.

When it comes to creativity, there’s a persistent (hopeful) argument that humans will have an edge, at least for a while! But does that matter if our audience is moving away from us day by day?

The biggest threat to creators

Today, we take recommendation engines for granted, whether it’s Netflix, TikTok, or another place we enjoy content. These algorithms serve a useful purpose by helping us cut through seemingly infinite choices. We happily let a machine feed our content habits.

My friend Daniel Nestle correctly said, “Recommendation engines give us a free pass for not being not being curious.”

The various recommendation engines are at war with each other as they seek to suck up more and more of our attention. Their victory is secured when they earn bigger chunks of our attention. It’s almost like fighting for shelf space in the grocery aisle. And for every victory, there is a loser, and in this case, the losers are individual creators.