The AI Copy-Paste Problem: Killing Software Lock-In & Why Data Portability is Key
By Lucas Fernandes Aguiar
So, I was watching this video the other day, and it got me thinking… you know, about how everything’s changing with AI. It seems like the old ways of doing things in software are just not cutting it anymore.
Remember how companies used to try and, like, trap you in their ecosystem? Make it impossible to leave? That’s software lock-in, and honestly, I think AI is making that a thing of the past. I could be wrong, but it doesn’t make sense anymore to pay for yearly plans anymore for most of the things that are appearing in AI. I mean, every week we have something new in the pipeline.
Intelligence is Cheap (and Getting Cheaper)
The thing is, AI is making intelligence super cheap. Think about OpenAI’s pricing from a couple of years ago to where Google’s Gemini is now being price at a fraction of a dollar per million tokens.
If intelligence is cheap, then building stuff with that intelligence is also cheaper, right? This means switching between tools is easier than ever. Data interoperability? That’s the name of the game now, because AI is nothing without data. We’re all using apps that require data, so it has to be able to flow freely. Think about how we can go from one AI tool to the next with little to no hastle. I tested Cursor this week and it imported all my VS Code configuration and it made a lot easier to use the tool.
Loyalty? More Like, What Can You Do For Me Now?
The loyalty thing? It’s broken. People aren’t tied to one piece of software for life anymore. They’re comfortable jumping around, trying different stuff until they find what works best. The pandemic just made everyone really open to try new things.Think about how internet banking used to be so taboo and now everyone uses it without thinking about it. So, why stick with something that doesn’t give you what you want when it’s so easy to just pick up and move your data somewhere else? We get really pissed when we can’t just cancel a subscription, don’t we?
The Big Takeaways
- AI is driving down costs, and that’s killing software lock-in.
- Data portability is the new user loyalty. If people can’t take their stuff with them, they won’t stick around.
- Outcomes are king – users want results, not a pretty interface that holds their data hostage.
So, if you’re building something cool with AI, don’t even think about trying to lock people in.
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