Big Tech used AI to take what it wanted. Now consumers are fighting back, too

Over the past four years, generative AI has seen big tech companies unleash their tools on the world, expecting users to accept the data collection and legal issues that come with it. However, as AI continues to advance and users become more comfortable with its capabilities, the balance is starting to tip. Big Tech might soon face resistance from consumers who are beginning to fight back.

The first few years of the AI revolution focused on vendor lock-in and potential intellectual property exploitation. Now, users are taking matters into their own hands, reversing engineering software and hardware to gain more control over their devices. For example, with the help of AI tools like Claude, a person was able to repurpose a $50 digital photo frame from Amazon into a smart display by sidestepping subscription locks and installing a custom operating system.

Additionally, reverse engineering has helped users bypass proprietary software and turn old printers into on-demand, tear-off to-do lists. Some are even using AI to manipulate e-ink price tags on supermarket shelves and hack together hardware systems to power them. The maker movement has always existed, but AI's ease of use has made it more accessible than ever before.

The motivation behind this trend seems to be a strong sense of injustice and a desire to break free from the cycle of endless subscriptions and being continuously nickel-and-dimed by tech companies. People feel morally justified in their actions, as they've been similarly treated poorly by these companies in the past. While some of this reverse engineering may not be legal in certain jurisdictions, many see it as a way to pay back for the injustices they've faced.