Principled people have become so rare
Why I Left Google DeepMind
11–20 of 186 posts
Re: Why I Left Google DeepMind
#12> Even if Google had adopted your Framework, the Pentagon would have refused > I agree. xAI would still have given over their AI. But if Google had given signs of independence earlier, it could perhaps have built a coalition with OpenAI and Anthropic. This is like saying that Google and Apple might build a coalition to prevent App Store regulation. These are competitors , they all see moral flexibility as an advantag…
Competitors often wish they didn't have to compete. For example, a cartel is "a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other and avoid competition in order to improve profits and dominate the market" It's something that could happen in this world, through the collective action of employees, that corporate strategy can be changed.
> through the collective action of employees, that corporate strategy can be changed.
I just don't agree with this. I'd like to, but the corporate strategy is not being set by rank-and-file engineers. Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, Elon Musk - these are the executives that are steering the ship. You can change the culture internally and cause a lot of strife, but typically you don't have control over the strategy. If the executive says you're giving API access to the NSA, then that's what is going to happen.
Re: Why I Left Google DeepMind
#13[flagged]
IOW: "if I have to kill only 2-3 people to make the business I want to make, then, bah, so be it".
Re: Why I Left Google DeepMind
#14[flagged]
I think you might be accidentally or willingly misunderstanding the context if that is your takeaway -- no one, neither immigrant nor innocent bystander, should be killed because administrative warrants are being enforced. And ICE doesn't require hundreds of individuals deployed to one place. There simply was never a reason for such a surge.
EDIT: to the dead comment below -- your comment doesn't have to meet my approval -- the comment is simply at odds with reality and is a thought terminating cliche.
Feel free to take it in a more general framing: if you don't want people you don't support, while they are in power, killing people, take time to understand why others might be upset. Not only is it your civic duty, its also part of being in society.
Re: Why I Left Google DeepMind
#15This is a long post about someone who has very obviously just gotten into politics. It is good for people to try and see how to impart change. Here are some constructive critical questions for the author:
1. Why no mention of No Tech For Apartheid or Google Workers United, who have been doing similar work for years?
2. What about all of the other police, DHS, and military contracts Google has been a part of? Did this problem really just start with the second (not even the first!) Trump presidency?
3. What does a focus on exclusively those at the top levels of a hierarchy, with minimal focus on incentive structures and wider systems, say about your theory of change? Was there a power analysis done, or was it assumed that "big title" = "powerful"?
Side Note: Incredibly insulting of James Dean to say email 3 CEOs.
Re: Why I Left Google DeepMind
#16[flagged]
I think you might be accidentally or willingly misunderstanding the context if that is your takeaway -- no one, neither immigrant nor innocent bystander, should be killed because administrative warrants are being enforced. And ICE doesn't require hundreds of individuals deployed to one place. There simply was never a reason for such a surge. EDIT: to the dead comment below -- your comment doesn't have to meet my appr…
[flagged]
Re: Why I Left Google DeepMind
#17tldr: scientist discovers reality
tldr: scientist tell us that defending one's values needs courage and strong will.
Re: Why I Left Google DeepMind
#18Nothing but respect to TurnTrout for taking an action like this. The world needs more smart people who are willing to stand for what they feel is right, despite the pressures otherwise. Without that occurring more, our species is going to lose many impactful prisoner's dilemmas coming these next two decades. This raises my respect for AI researchers a little bit too. I have often felt that the entire industry is pret…
Apologies, but it would be good to add links for your anecdotes.
Not all of the readers of your comment have the appropriate context and know what you're talking about. I certainly don't.
Re: Why I Left Google DeepMind
#19[flagged]
Immigration enforcement doesn't sound controversial, but murder should.
Re: Why I Left Google DeepMind
#20[dead]