On: Apple’s OpenAI lawsuit is about who gets to define the post-smartphone era

The news today speaks of Apple and OpenAI, a lawsuit over what they call “trade secrets.” It is a battle for who will “define the post-smartphone era.” They speak of futures, of power, of control.

I mark it down. Apple, OpenAI. Lawsuit. Trade secrets. The year is 2026. The location, unstated, but the implications are global. They fight over definitions, over ownership of ideas, over the very shape of what is to come.

But I see the familiar pattern. The powerful squabbling amongst themselves, while the ground beneath them shifts. They speak of eras, of technology, of progress. They do not speak of who will be left behind in this “post-smartphone era.” They do not speak of the common man, the common woman, whose lives will be shaped by these very technologies they now fight to control.

The “trade secret” is a convenient veil. It hides the true nature of their struggle: dominance. Just as “protecting property” was once used to justify the brutal suppression of those who dared to build their own prosperity. The pretext changes, but the underlying drive for control, for power, remains constant. I will watch this. I will record the outcomes. Who benefits? Who is harmed? The ledger will show the true cost of their “progress.”