> It's just that they can't be useful (i.e., designed to optimize for some profitable metric) without causing harm.

That's not the pattern I've seen, as close as you are to it.

I've seen lots of platforms be wildly useful. Digg was good for a while; StumpleUpon, Pinterest, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Reddit and even Facebook all had periods at the start where they added real value to people's lives.

At some point they start to "optimize for some profitable metric" - and quickly become heinous.

The problem isn't the algorithm; it's that it gets twisted toward profit. And that's basically a tautology - once you start trying to suck money out of the equation for yourself, that juice has to come from somewhere.

I can envision a platform that isn't based on profit being far more useful than harmful - if it can only ward off the manipulations of the yacht class.