Liat Ben-Zur
Role at the time: Former Microsoft corporate vice president, in an interview with Fortune
Mixed or conditional
Statement summary
Liat Ben-Zur, a former Microsoft corporate vice president, told Fortune that the standoff is bigger than bot detection or website access, and that the companies controlling the rules of access will have enormous influence over whether AI agents actually work for the consumer.
“This is bigger than a dispute over bot detection or website access. We are moving toward a world where agents will increasingly act as our representatives online. The companies that control the rules of access will have enormous influence over whether those agents actually work for the consumer.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Meta's Muse AI is exploding in popularity, and drawing heated backlash
Fortune report on Muse's rise to the top of the U.S. iOS free app chart, Amazon's block and statement, Meta's Shopify partnership, and reactions from Nikesh Arora on X and Liat Ben-Zur in an interview.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
Ben-Zur identifies what is at stake in Amazon's decision and warns about gatekeeping power, but does not expressly say the block is right or wrong.