Thread

1. rr808 · 1790014595 · focus · HN ↗

   It makes total sense for Amazon to block agents. It sucks having to manually check multiple sites for prices and delivery of something you want so is easier just to use Amazon which is usually very good. If people start using agents Amazon is less likely to get the sale and are more vulnerable to competition. Better to kill this trend off asap.

   1. Buttons840 · 1790017078 · focus · HN ↗

      In general, preventing consumers from having fully featured AIs (especially local ones) will be worth about 10 trillion dollars to companies. That's my prediction.

      Amazon is one example. If my basement AI drives my browser and never clicks an ad, Amazon loses big.

      Or, the ad industry in general -- imagine the basement AI filtering out all ads at the analog level so nobody in my house ever sees an ad, and no software update can change that.

      Or other optimizations. Right now companies enjoy a power imbalance because they have people who ruthlessly optimize 24/7 to save a buck. I can't do the same, because I have to work, and also prefer to spend my personal time with family -- a foolish thing to do in a capitalist society, at least from a capital perspective. Imagine I have an AI wheeling and dealing on my behalf 24/7 too. Especially in an age of online shopping and product deliveries, my AI will absolutely order from your competitor to save a penny, my AI will absolutely spend 400 hours disputing a medical bill I don't think is right, barely an inconvenience to me.

      1. nancyminusone · 1790018539 · focus · HN ↗

         The ads (in general) will be redirected to where you will see it, regardless of whether or not Amazon allows bots. You don't think you're getting off that easily, do you?

         1. Buttons840 · 1790032680 · focus · HN ↗

            Once AI is good enough the AI will control what I see, plus, I will just spend a lot less time looking at screens altogether.

            It's also trivial for Amazon competitors to pop up in this potential AI future. Maybe you only sell door knobs, but all you need to do is set up a mostly text-based API designed for AI consumption and you're in business. If you offer the door knob for 10 cents less, why wouldn't the AI agents buy from you?

            Right now making an Amazon competitor will fail mainly because humans are lazy and can't be bother to check other sites. AI might change that.

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