> Although I like the spirit of this idea, I don't know that I could trust it in practice as it will be companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft that own the actual hardware.

This is the point that the author makes in the second part of their post. Quote:

"The dutifully critical part of me wants to shout: you shouldn’t trust these slabs! Their operators, G — and A — and M — and the rest, will surely betray you. The very signature of the corporate internet is the way it slips from your grasp. The leviathans swim off in pursuit new markets, and what do they leave you with? Deprecation notices."