Live data from Hacker News

Former Facebook staffers launch Integrity Institute

protocol.com

91–100 of 186 posts

Re: Former Facebook staffers launch Integrity Institute

#91

A reminder that Facebook's VP of integrity (Guy Rosen)[1] co-founded the spyware company, Onavo, that Facebook acquired. Onavo made a VPN that collected user activity and delivered it to Facebook.[2] [1] First temporary ( https://gizmodo.com/facebook-exec-gets-new-title-as-vp-of-in... ), then long-term ( https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/17/22731214/facebook-disput... ) [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onavo

I see this mentioned on multiple threads. What is the accusation here? (FB employee, opinions are my own)

Go fuck yourself, you despicable subhuman piece of filth.

Unless you're a troll just trying to make Facebook employees look bad, in which case, lol, well done.

Re: Former Facebook staffers launch Integrity Institute

#93
post #2

Oh hi! That’s me! (And a bunch of other folks). Happy to answer any questions. I also really like this founders note that we wrote. It’s in our own words, etc: https://integrityinstitute.org/founders-letter We are recruiting new members! If you work on integrity / trust and safety / antispam / content quality / etc, let’s talk.

I have a hypothesis. It goes like this. Today all the major text-based social platforms work in about the same way: we type text into an empty little box that's threaded under another box. There are variations in ranking and flagging, but the basic mechanism is unchanged. It is striking to me that, in all these years, we have explored only a tiny little corner of the design space. There are no mechanisms to lower the…

Hey this is a really good question. And I agree with you 100%! We have only explored a tiny corner of the design space.

Since you asked for links, I think you'd like this talk I gave at Berkman a little while ago: https://cyber.harvard.edu/events/governing-social-media-city

It's about: if we think of social media as a new city, what are the alternatives to hiring tons of cops/censors? What about urban planning, bike lanes, etc?

As for healthy engagement: I think there are a few people in this space. I honestly don't know as many as I'd like. This will be a learning experience for everyone. I think New Public might be doing good work, but I'm not sure!

https://newpublic.org/

Hope that helps!

Re: Former Facebook staffers launch Integrity Institute

#94
post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Related note: the famous "we value our users" means "we increase the lifetime value of our users" and that's not a snarky speculation.

They apparently value users at around $1,500/year.

Do you have a citation here? I thought it was on the order of $30-$50

Re: Former Facebook staffers launch Integrity Institute

#95

A reminder that Facebook's VP of integrity (Guy Rosen)[1] co-founded the spyware company, Onavo, that Facebook acquired. Onavo made a VPN that collected user activity and delivered it to Facebook.[2] [1] First temporary ( https://gizmodo.com/facebook-exec-gets-new-title-as-vp-of-in... ), then long-term ( https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/17/22731214/facebook-disput... ) [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onavo

[deleted]

Re: Former Facebook staffers launch Integrity Institute

#96

Long before the Internet, you could go through an airport and be unable to avoid the Moonies & the followers of Lyndon LaRouche. You could find the book "None Dare Call It Treason" and lots of people did. "The Daily Worker" (newspaper of the US Communist Party) was readily available. Any of those groups could take out ads in the newspaper, or hold demonstrations (like the Nazi Party in Skokie, IL). There were UHF sta…

> "Oh, but now it's different!" the "integrity" people claim Because it is. Our modern legal constructs of free speech came about in a semi-literate, printing-press pamphleteering age. It was revised in the era of broadcast television. "It was like this before, and so it should be forever after" is not an argument. We're at a point where we have to talk in terms of first principles. Not ideologies or teams. That's to…

Actually, "It was like this before" IS an argument. Unless you can demonstrate that allowing unpopular speech was always bad, you lose. The world did not begin with you.

"semi-literate"?? Literacy rates in the US were always very high.

And no, we are not "at a point where we have to talk in terms of first principles." Because we have a Constitution to do that for us, is has not been abolished, and it is not going to be.

Re: Former Facebook staffers launch Integrity Institute

#97

Long before the Internet, you could go through an airport and be unable to avoid the Moonies & the followers of Lyndon LaRouche. You could find the book "None Dare Call It Treason" and lots of people did. "The Daily Worker" (newspaper of the US Communist Party) was readily available. Any of those groups could take out ads in the newspaper, or hold demonstrations (like the Nazi Party in Skokie, IL). There were UHF sta…

The fact that over 40% of Americans are still not fully vaccinated and thousands of people per day are still dying needlessly proves that people actually aren't good at filtering out bullshit.

.. and therefore they need their information filtered for them by their betters, i.e. techies?

Re: Former Facebook staffers launch Integrity Institute

#98
post #90
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What’s the agenda here? (Fit the description, but am very skeptical of your motives :))

I think this should answer your question: https://integrityinstitute.org/founders-letter But also, our values: https://integrityinstitute.org/our-values Also, succinctly -- this is a real, grassroots thing. We gathered a bunch of friends and coworkers for this big idea of "what if we had best practices and a professional association for integrity work, just like we do for cybersecurity" and then worked for 10 months…

Thanks! The values resonate strongly (rarely practiced in industry though - power, the pursuit of glory, and partisanship can and do form a toxic combination).

Re: Former Facebook staffers launch Integrity Institute

#99
post #2

Oh hi! That’s me! (And a bunch of other folks). Happy to answer any questions. I also really like this founders note that we wrote. It’s in our own words, etc: https://integrityinstitute.org/founders-letter We are recruiting new members! If you work on integrity / trust and safety / antispam / content quality / etc, let’s talk.

It's understandable that people go to work for Sauron to get paid big money. But starting a "human-orc ethics think tank" because you have relevant experience in the field is a bit rich.
Post reply on HN