Infrastructure evolution: disruptive technologies are forced to survive on infrastructure that is not designed for it. Are companies like Uber and Airbnb paving the way for a decentralised marketplace (with their software, despite still relying on traditional payment systems)?
Transcript
QUESTION: In the past, you spoke about infrastructure inversion, where disruptive technologies are forced to survive on infrastructure that's not designed for them. You mentioned Uber and Airbnb, and I get it, the vampire squid suckers. But aren't they really paving the way for this infrastructure inversion of peer-to-peer? I mean, they still get in the way in terms of payments, I get the payment part. But the software that brings people together, is it not just the beginning steps towards a more decentralized marketplace where people can share these products?
ANDREAS: Absolutely. They are paving the way. And I'm sure my criticism is grossly unfair because the alternative, which is the traditional taxi system, completely sucks, and chain hotels completely suck. And I use Uber and Lyft and all of the taxi services. And I use Airbnb as my permanent home effectively. And so yes, absolutely, they're paving the way.
Would it be better if they paved the way without locking their own people into subprime auto loans and exploiting them? Yes. Would it be better if they took a smaller cut and spent less money on the things they spend? Yes. We can do better. Just because we can do better doesn't mean that they're not good. It just means we can do better. And recognizing why these centralization tendencies exist is what I really want to call out.