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Interview with Bill Gates on Covid, social media

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Re: Interview with Bill Gates on Covid, social media

#161

Post by threatripper »

popnroll wrote: post #153
threatripper wrote: post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you assume the government to be lawful and of high morals, of course. On the other hand, if your country is run by literal Nazis, the idea doesn't sound so good anymore. I hope your ancestry is pure of whatever lineage the rulers of the next fascist empire will be.

But in that case you've already lost all freedom. What can be done in a fascist country by sending encrypted messages?

You can organize resistance on all levels. People who put their life on the line for others can coordinate inside the country and with forces outside of the country. This is a huge danger to the ruling group since it is only a small minority and many people get not only their freedoms taken away but also their riches. Therefore before establishing a fascist government you must first control communication to a high degree to be able to suppress opposition effectively.

Re: Interview with Bill Gates on Covid, social media

#162

Post by JasonFruit »

bluedevil2k wrote: post #67
ralph84 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The charitable take is he's still a socially awkward nerd. The uncharitable take is he's still as ruthless as he was during the embrace, extend, extinguish days and since the pandemic has been great business for him why shouldn't he be happy.

What are you taking about? The man devotes his time and considerable resources to public health and solving the tough to solve issues instead of spending his time owning sports teams and racing yachts. Yet...you still look for the negatives in his motives? “Great Business?” The man is literally giving away his money, all this pandemic is doing is taking more of his precious time up than normal.

The worst tyrannies are those that are initially put in place for the public good. They're the least scrutinized and hardest to resist. I worry that he and others like him see COVID-19 as an opportunity to remake the world in the technocratic mold they for a number of reasons prefer.

Re: Interview with Bill Gates on Covid, social media

#163

Post by popnroll »

DethNinja wrote: post #155
popnroll wrote: post #139

I think Gates is right. What is the problem with the government controlling communication? There are clear advantages, like handling illegal things. What are the disadvantages, the nude photo of your ex-girlfriend being analyzed by a machine?

Are you serious? Here are some disadvantages: If you got connections to government, you can steal trade secrets from companies and enrich yourself and destroy the competition. Destroy the lives of your political opponents by blackmailing. Analyse and control the public sentiment to crush minorities. I recommend you read a bit of stasi: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stasi Also Bill Gates wants full government contro…

All these points already exist today and for a long time.

Re: Interview with Bill Gates on Covid, social media

#164

Post by drivebycomment »

blablabla123 wrote: post #75
refurb wrote: post #36

Maybe it’s just me, but I find it odd that Gates is the go to source for public health issues. His biggest contribution is money, which pays for really smart people to tackle these issues. So why not talk to the really smart people he hired?

Yes, it's really weird, also that he is actually supporting the WHO financially. But here's the reality: U.S. doesn't spend enough to WHO (in fact now they even want to leave), so he gives them money - which is actually possible for everyone. Also Bill Gates wasn't the only "Cassandra", practically every popular science magazine (and probably also HN) has written about the possibility of a future pandemic since years…

> this is really odd but it is even more odd how governments are unable to work on long-term topics unless shit hits the fan.

Not so odd. This is a common human behavior. We humans are very slow in responding to low probability but high impact events, especially if they require coordination.

E.g. upcoming climate disaster ("climate change" is a euphemism at this point), or nuclear weapons stockpile and the military systems which are effectively a dooms-day device for humanity.

At a smaller scale, various preventable accidents like Beirut explosions or most industrial accidents.

Ironically, a well functioning bureaucracy is one of the best answers, as you can see from Taiwan or South Korea's preparedness and response to COVID pandemic.

Re: Interview with Bill Gates on Covid, social media

#165

Post by bluedevil2k »

djsumdog wrote: post #145
bluedevil2k wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are you taking about? The man devotes his time and considerable resources to public health and solving the tough to solve issues instead of spending his time owning sports teams and racing yachts. Yet...you still look for the negatives in his motives? “Great Business?” The man is literally giving away his money, all this pandemic is doing is taking more of his precious time up than normal.

You really thing he's all altruism now? Remember how he got there. It wasn't on the backs of good things. He crushed all of his competition. I don't understand how people see him as some kind of hero now. He wants more power. The Gates funded oral polio vaccine in India was a fucking disaster!

People can’t change? That’s silly, people are always changing. People mellow out as they get older. They’re less combative, more willing to help and be part of a community.

Re: Interview with Bill Gates on Covid, social media

#166

Post by popnroll »

threatripper wrote: post #161
popnroll wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But in that case you've already lost all freedom. What can be done in a fascist country by sending encrypted messages?

You can organize resistance on all levels. People who put their life on the line for others can coordinate inside the country and with forces outside of the country. This is a huge danger to the ruling group since it is only a small minority and many people get not only their freedoms taken away but also their riches. Therefore before establishing a fascist government you must first control communication to a high de…

Today you can follow the movements of anyone with technology. You're already screwed. The messages could not organize a resistance

Re: Interview with Bill Gates on Covid, social media

#167

Post by thekyle »

lern_too_spel wrote: post #137
ani-ani wrote: post #93

He is easily one of the least bullshit-y sources when it comes to handling of COVID. But then there's this right in the middle of the interview: " And when you have [posts] encrypted, there is no way to know what it is. I personally believe government should not allow those types of lies or fraud or child pornography [to be hidden with encryption like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger] ". Quite literally, encrypted comm…

Where did he say government should read everyone's private messages? Governments can access my security box at the bank. That is different from governments rifling through it all the time.

In practice there is no scalable way for the government to check everyone's security box every second. However, it is possible for them to scan every message sent in real time and past leaks have shown that they will if given the opportunity.

Re: Interview with Bill Gates on Covid, social media

#168

Post by _prototype_ »

reillyse wrote: post #109
ani-ani wrote: post #93

He is easily one of the least bullshit-y sources when it comes to handling of COVID. But then there's this right in the middle of the interview: " And when you have [posts] encrypted, there is no way to know what it is. I personally believe government should not allow those types of lies or fraud or child pornography [to be hidden with encryption like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger] ". Quite literally, encrypted comm…

I don't think he is saying that encrypted communication should be illegal. He's saying that spreading lies through encrypted channels should be stopped. It would not be hard for WhatsApp to prevent people from spreading bogus videos, because they have access to the unencrypted information before and after sending. So either preventing people from sharing misinformation or preventing people from reading the misinforma…

And who defines what a "lie" is?

Re: Interview with Bill Gates on Covid, social media

#169

Post by thekyle »

popnroll wrote: post #139

I think Gates is right. What is the problem with the government controlling communication? There are clear advantages, like handling illegal things. What are the disadvantages, the nude photo of your ex-girlfriend being analyzed by a machine?

I feel like you can just look at what China or N. Korea are doing to see the downsides.

Re: Interview with Bill Gates on Covid, social media

#170

Post by breck »

H8crilA wrote: post #135
ani-ani wrote: post #93

He is easily one of the least bullshit-y sources when it comes to handling of COVID. But then there's this right in the middle of the interview: " And when you have [posts] encrypted, there is no way to know what it is. I personally believe government should not allow those types of lies or fraud or child pornography [to be hidden with encryption like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger] ". Quite literally, encrypted comm…

This is just Gates venting out, dude is sooo frustrated. Imagine doing as much as he did and still getting horseshit accusations about putting chips into people's bodies or whatever new nonsense they will come up in 6 months.

That was my take too. Him being frustrated at the problem. Sort of like when Obama rolls his eyes when someone makes a birther joke.

I personally think the solution isn't to make it harder to share lies, but easier to share the truth. Sharing the truth is actually extremely labor intensive.

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