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Comment by exdsq | Hacker News Reader

What does democratize even mean?

de·moc·ra·tize /dəˈmäkrəˌtīz/
verb
introduce a democratic system or democratic principles to. "public institutions need to be democratized"

make (something) accessible to everyone. "mass production has not democratized fashion"

https://www.google.com/search?q=democratize

I suppose that would be the second meaning.

The real answer: Democratisation of software or systems is making Free and Open Source all the software and knowledge required to operate the software or system. Democratisation is also implementing structures that make the development process beholden and accountable to the users. Fundamentally it's about giving the users true ownership over the software and a voice in the development process and/or operation.

Now how it's used here? It's more just a buzzword that suggests they are trying to make it more accessible by selling it as a SaaS. They seem to have a focus on ethically providing access to these more powerful ML systems but what this'll actually mean beyond "cover our ass" is up in the air.

Like synergize, but with 20% more righteous and warm fuzzy.

Here, it means 'make available to everyone'.

It has at least one other meaning ('introduce democracy as a system of rule').

It's a trendy marketing word for selling to a lot of smaller businesses, in contrast with "normal" enterprise software sales which stereotypically focus on big contracts.

I think this kind of marketing language is aimed more at potential employees / investors than customers. Employees and investors often want to imagine themselves as part of a narrative where they're "democratizing" something.

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