NFTs
originally a mastodon thread by @polymerwitch, copied here in full for posterity.
I joke a lot about NFTs a lot as they are obviously ridiculous. Digital deeds for jpegs, lol. The tech companies putting these together have a nefarious goal that is well beyond a jokey punchline though. We know about youtube algorithms that scan videos and enforce copyright for matched songs/vids. Imagine that happening with memes or photos you grab from the news. You repost that image, and then an algorithm finds it, contacts the NFT owner, and you get charged.
It also allows for people to do things like if a new Metallica record comes out, then you can get the tracks with your own NFT for each track. You play them in the cafe you work at, and then an inspector demands to see the NFTs to see if you have the right to play them publicly. You don't so you go to resell your NFTs as used, but then the NFT has a clause that says 50% of the used sale automatically goes to Metallica.
NFTs are digital manufactured scarcity. It's an attempt by capitalists to claim new property from public commons. It's really really fucked.