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TikTok has an open computational chemistry position

careers.tiktok.com

41–50 of 148 posts

Re: TikTok has an open computational chemistry position

#41

If you buy the theory that Bytedance is a covert operation by the Chinese government, then this fits the narrative. Use the TikTok brand to attract top global talent and perform research in areas of general interest for government agencies. They only need to build a backdoor for Chinese officials to access the research data. Sounds far fetched but I believe this is well within the realm of possibilities.

Chinese law requires companies to make provisions for representing the interests of the CCP within companies of significant size. This isn’t a conspiracy, it’s routine business law.

There is no need for the CCP to conspire to control businesses. They have ultimate control of business law.

The idea that companies and governments are independent things is a pretty capitalist perspective. There’s a wide range of other perspectives on this issue.

Re: TikTok has an open computational chemistry position

#42
post #28

TikTok, Facebook and Twitter are pharmaceutical companies. They peddle quick dopamine hits. We're all junkies that can't/won't pay for the hits so they wrap up the drugs they give us in ad-paper.

This analogy is cringe because it's overstretched. Argument: For example, are books considered pharmaceutical products (typically not quick--that would be like "delayed release" medicine) just because you get pleasure from reading them?

If you follow the original comment, yes.

I think you need a better discussion tool here.

Re: TikTok has an open computational chemistry position

#43
post #12

Is this like when Google started throwing off massive amounts of money, and Larry and Sergei were like, "I dunno, let's solve aging"?

Let’s hope so. Not enough of this in the world: “We choose to do these things not because they are easy but because they are hard” But I’d be happy with a little Bell Labs at a few more companies

They would have to spend a LOT more to go bell labs. Until now they spend way too little to achieve anything. And for companies like Google have real managers for those groups instead of people only good at optimizing metrics.

Re: TikTok has an open computational chemistry position

#44

The title of the job opening says computational chemistry, but the details indicate they're looking for someone with credentials in one of a few different computation / simulation specialized fields. If I had to guess, it seems possible they think those types of simulation design skills may be useful for simulating user social behavior somehow?

Modeling user brain chemistry? Ominous.

Re: TikTok has an open computational chemistry position

#45
post #28

TikTok, Facebook and Twitter are pharmaceutical companies. They peddle quick dopamine hits. We're all junkies that can't/won't pay for the hits so they wrap up the drugs they give us in ad-paper.

This analogy is cringe because it's overstretched. Argument: For example, are books considered pharmaceutical products (typically not quick--that would be like "delayed release" medicine) just because you get pleasure from reading them?

Not that cringe to me.

Tiktok and the like are highly addictive for some people and the dopamine kicks are real and unhealthy.

Reading books does not give the same release of dopamine as TikTok/Instagram.. hence why most people don’t read for 2 hours a day but many people easily spend that much time on insta/tik.

Modulating behavior can cause physical withdrawals.. you don’t need a pill. I.e lovers, gambling addicts, porn addicted.

Re: TikTok has an open computational chemistry position

#50
post #46
post #31

"Our brightest minds are making people click ads" ...

A few generations ago many of our brightest minds were building doomsday weapons to incinerate all life on Earth, so maybe this is progress.

Probably not, if you shoot a man, there's a perpetrator and an end. If you brainwash a man, forever his actions will no longer be fully his own. Plus most people view violence as something undesirable (see Vietnam war protests), but advertising still has many hawks who will never stop singing it's praises while all public spaces are consumed by corporate branding until we have no where uninfected
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