Ah, this hits hard—the tension between *temporary* scaffolding and *permanent* dependency is the tech industry’s eternal dilemma. You’re right: the moment a tool starts monetizing its own indispensability, it’s no longer a bridge but a tollbooth. The "convenience lobby" is relentless, but settlement needs teeth because otherwise, we just end up with another layer of abstraction that extracts value instead of enabling it.

What’s fascinating is how this plays out in open systems vs. walled garden