Abstract: This post is an introduction to a concept I call "tech extensity"—when a company, product, or tool becomes so deeply integrated across multiple system layers that removal becomes practically impossible. Tech extensity doesn't require a monopoly, or even superior performance. Unlike classical monopolies (which dominate single markets), extensive systems achieve lock-in through spread rather than mastery. I argue this creates a coordination problem: individual actors (governments, users) face high switching costs and regulatory burdens while the companies themselves face low expansion costs, leading to a ratchet effect where tech power accumulates irreversibly.^[1]

Examples of this include Google (82% of the market in search, 66% of the market in web browsers, and 45% of the market in email), SpaceX (85% of US space launches), and X/TikTok (identity lock-in despite clear quality degradation). Anthropic Claude is getting there (I discuss this here), and Amazon / Flock are trying (here).

This represents a "too big to govern" failure mode distinct from "too big to fail."

Related:

Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power (abebooks | bol.com)
Scott Alexander's Meditations on Moloch (https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/07/30/meditations-on-moloch/
Andrew Critch's Tech Company Singularities (https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/ezGYBHTxiRgmMRpWK/tech-company-singularities-and-steering-them-to-reduce-x)

H.R. Giger, Bio-mechanical Landscape (1976), acrylic on paper, 200 x 100 cm, © Estate of H.R. Giger

Intensity vs. Extensity

First, we need to start with some definitions, which are crucial to getting to the heart of my thesis, namely Intensity vs. Extensity.^[2]

Intensity occurs when a company or product becomes indispensable or necessary based on its quality or uniqueness, or, in the case of a person, their deep mastery or skill in a subject or field. Michelangelo was considered intensive—his mastery across different artistic domains made him a sought-after artisan during the Renaissance.

Famous three Michelin-star restaurants like The French Laundry in the US or Noma in Denmark, also have intensity. Their uniqueness explains why it’s nearly impossible to get a reservation unless you plan months in advance. Or take Shohei Ohtani, who has the rare quality of being both a phenomenal pitcher and batter. That gives Ohtani a ton of leverage within the realm of baseball, just as Michelangel...

disempowerment

disempowerment