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Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

nytimes.com

141–150 of 770 posts

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#141

This article is filled with strangely matter-of-fact language regarding matters which are still unsolved: For example: > Mr. Epstein — who killed himself in jail last month while facing federal sex trafficking charges

Unfortunately the cameras spontaneously failed so we’ll never discover how someone can break their own neck

You can do it pretty damn easily by hanging yourself.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#142
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Everybody who has doubts about working with the creep looks around the room, and when they don't see anyone else objecting, ends up thinking "I guess we're all ok with this behavior" and gets along to go along. Let's be honest - a lot of people in the tech community and related subcultures (particularly genre fandoms) are either ok with, or are ambivalent towards, this behavior, or have a lack of empathy which lead…

It's a trait that I've heard derisively referred to as "engineer autism" in some circles, though I doubt the literal truth of that description. But whatever it's called or ascribed to, there seems to be a genuine underlying trend of some sort. It's a topic I'd like to see defined and addressed; as tech becomes more important to society the pathologies of engineer types become more and more socially relevant as people…

the probably correlation between technical interests in childhood and adolescence and reduced socialization is an obvious factor imo

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#144
post #24

>Mr. Ito has been a board member of The New York Times Company since 2012. The company did not immediately comment on Mr. Ito’s decision to leave M.I.T. This is the 7th paragraph in the story. Shouldn't it be higher up?

What about that paragraph leads you to believe it should be higher or lower in the story, relative to its current position?

The connection between the subject of the story and the publisher of the story really ought to have been higher.

However, news is currently breaking that Ito has since resigned from The NY Times Co. board as well.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#145
post #124
post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because he has been convicted before doesn't mean this time he did it again. Thats for the police to figure out. I disagree, even if its proven he did it, taking money and hanging out with child trafficker doesn't mean one condone the practice of the trafficking itself.

> ...doesn't mean one condone the practice... Ohai, goalpost. I thought we were talking about normalizing things, not condoning them.

Sorry let me rewrite that, hanging out with child trafficker doesn't mean normalizing child trafficking. What makes Child trafficking normal is if the law enforcement doesn't do anything.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#146

> I don't get it. This is one of those things where somebody noticed that things just didn't seem right and the proper response to that is to raise concern and ask questions. Sorry, but a 60-something "finance" guy with an entourage of teen models doesn't add up. Sure some of these people have trophy wives half their age, and it raises eyebrows, but this is far beyond that and totally unacceptable once somebody looks…

"teen" is a big range. If they were 14 - then that is a problem. If they're 19 then I don't really see why I or anyone else should care. In fact, it seems like one would be attempting to remove autonomy from these women if you tried to prevent an adult from serving as an assistant "for their own good" because you're creeped out by the employer.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a trait that I've heard derisively referred to as "engineer autism" in some circles, though I doubt the literal truth of that description. But whatever it's called or ascribed to, there seems to be a genuine underlying trend of some sort. It's a topic I'd like to see defined and addressed; as tech becomes more important to society the pathologies of engineer types become more and more socially relevant as people…

the probably correlation between technical interests in childhood and adolescence and reduced socialization is an obvious factor imo

I suspect that's at least a large component of it. It might also be reversed; kids who have trouble socializing pick up tech hobbies that are more conducive to a low-social lifestyle. It might be one or the other depending on the individual, or it may be that one exacerbates the other.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#148
post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The context here is that Epstein was a convicted sex offender who was widely believed to traffic women into sexual slavery, and sexual slavery is a serious problem in Eastern Europe [1]. The implication is the staff were concerned that Epstein was bringing literal slaves into the office. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_trafficking_in_Europe

Gotcha, I don't know the details of the allegations, and whether it was sex slavery or not. I was just giving another data point with a somewhat contrarian view. Thanks for sharing. One nit about the OP, is when any press outlet reports this as a "suicide". At the very least, this should be reported as an "assisted suicide". My infant can't poop without us having video evidence. The odds of this being an individual a…

Here's a thought: Don't rush in to give "contrarian views" on things you don't know about. That does not help anyone at all.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#149
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Everybody who has doubts about working with the creep looks around the room, and when they don't see anyone else objecting, ends up thinking "I guess we're all ok with this behavior" and gets along to go along. Let's be honest - a lot of people in the tech community and related subcultures (particularly genre fandoms) are either ok with, or are ambivalent towards, this behavior, or have a lack of empathy which lead…

It's a trait that I've heard derisively referred to as "engineer autism" in some circles, though I doubt the literal truth of that description. But whatever it's called or ascribed to, there seems to be a genuine underlying trend of some sort. It's a topic I'd like to see defined and addressed; as tech becomes more important to society the pathologies of engineer types become more and more socially relevant as people…

It's not tech. It's business. Ito is far more of a businessman than he is an engineer.

When it appears in tech, it's usually relatively harmless.

When it appears in business, it can literally be lethal.

Re: Joi Ito Resigns from M.I.T. Media Lab After Outcry over Jeffrey Epstein Ties

#150

[flagged]

I'm not going to argue what others would do with respect to the moral quandary of taking Epstein's money (indeed, Nicholas Negroponte argued 2 days ago he would still have counseled to take the money).

However, saying "hindsight and all" is a misrepresentation of the facts. Epstein was convicted of 2 felony prostitution charges (one involving a minor) in 2008 and was a registered sex offender. To try to portray this as just some "he said-she said" between a "rich playboy" and accusers is complete bullshit.

Also, Prince Andrew was widely criticized in 2011 for his tied to Epstein, and all of this stuff was after that. The "hindsight" was already well known by the time Ito accepted this money.

These folks knew what they were doing and made the calculation that the money was worth it.

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