[1] http://www.businessinsider.com/google-microsoft-amazon-taboo...
1) end users get spared from the worst bunch of ads (layer ads, huge screen-filling ads in the left/right margins between content and screen, auto-playing video ads, popup/popunder ads, ads that mess with your browsing history, pre-roll ads on video sites)
2) site owners don't have their revenue stream completely fucked with more and more people using ad blockers
3) advertisers, provided they play by the rules, still have a way to get their content out to users
4) ABP/Eyeo has financial resources for development, hosting, maintenance and is able to keep up in the whack-a-mole game with the nasty parts of the ad distribution networks
You can look at their whitelist and find all sorts of intrusive and shady ad networks in there. This kind of funding model is bound to incentivize ABP into taking the wrong actions and working with bad actors.
Time to update filter lists.
Perhaps the auto update of the extension depends on the update settings of your browser.