[justin2004]

“The nature of these companies is what’s changed.”

Jaron Lanier calls this nature "sirenic." Shrinking markets is the business of Siren Servers.

We mostly notice how these companies seem to do more with less (with automation) but Lanier argues that the shrinking of markets is more closely associated with incomplete accounting of value (and its origination).

Think about all the users of "fake free" systems contributing value without formal compensation.

It's not simply that automation is obviating human effort but rather humans are contributing value (e.g. by being monitored and tallied or uploading creative work) and absorbing most of the risk of the venture.