If the product is free, you are the product
What is Nestle?
- Largest food and beverage company in the world, headquartered in Switzerland.
- Operates in 188 countries
- Owns more than 2,000 brands globally : Nescafè, Baci Perugina, KitKat, Smarties, Nespresso
The Historical Scandal (The 1970s)
- The "White Nurse" Marketing: Saleswomen dressed as nurses to trick mothers into thinking formula was better and more modern than breast milk.
- Free Samples: Giving away free samples caused mothers to lose their natural milk supply, creating a forced dependency on the product.
- The Water Problem: Many mothers used contaminated water to mix the powder, leading to fatal infections and diseases in babies.
- Dilution and Poverty: Poor families over-diluted the expensive powder to make it last longer, causing severe malnutrition and starvation.
some of the flyers of that time
The Consequences: The Boycott
- A 2018 study estimated that Nestlé’s market entrance caused roughly 66,000 infant deaths in 1981 alone.
- 1974, a report called "The Baby Killer" was published.
- 1977, a big international boycott against Nestlé started.
- 1981, the WHO created a new law (International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes), which restricts how formula can be promoted.
Comparison with AI: Sam Altman’s Vision
The comparison between Nestlé and Sam Altman (OpenAI):
- AI as a "Utility" (Like Water or Electricity):
Altman envisions AI as an essential public service paid by consumption, making it a utility as indispensable as water or power.
- The "Free Sample" and the Dependency Trap:
Free AI tools create a habit that risks eroding human critical thinking, potentially forcing future users to pay for a skill they can no longer exercise alone.
Questions...
Baby milk killed babies because it replaced a natural resource with a commercial one.
- Will AI destroy critical thinking in the same way?- In ten years, will we still be able to think for ourselves, or will we have to pay Sam Altman just to use our brains?
If the product is free, you are the product
ANNA MENINI
Created on April 29, 2026
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Transcript
If the product is free, you are the product
What is Nestle?
The Historical Scandal (The 1970s)
some of the flyers of that time
The Consequences: The Boycott
Comparison with AI: Sam Altman’s Vision
The comparison between Nestlé and Sam Altman (OpenAI):
- AI as a "Utility" (Like Water or Electricity):
Altman envisions AI as an essential public service paid by consumption, making it a utility as indispensable as water or power.- The "Free Sample" and the Dependency Trap:
Free AI tools create a habit that risks eroding human critical thinking, potentially forcing future users to pay for a skill they can no longer exercise alone.Questions...
Baby milk killed babies because it replaced a natural resource with a commercial one.
- Will AI destroy critical thinking in the same way?- In ten years, will we still be able to think for ourselves, or will we have to pay Sam Altman just to use our brains?