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Silicon Valley is transforming the military-industrial complex? (2024)

costsofwar.watson.brown.edu

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Re: Silicon Valley is transforming the military-industrial complex? (2024)

#141

Post by mikestew »

ForHackernews wrote: post #85
datsci_est_2015 wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The opposite of performative action is even worse: nihilism or even active support of atrocities. Too many nihilists in the tech industry with the attitude “if I don’t do it someone else will”, and here we are as a professional class actively making the world an objectively shittier place. The VCs can’t do it without us.

This is exactly the problem: Software developers are not a professional class, we are hired goons with no professional organization nor a code of professional ethics. This is one of my personal bugbears. I keep making this point on HN but devs want to LARP as professionals so they usually don't want to hear that they have more in common with retail workers than they do with carpenters, engineers, or accountants. Prev…

Yeah, and read the responses to your comments: "but, but, 'professional' is a state of mind, not just a piece of paper" and some crap, completely missing the point. Professionals push back with "I'll lose my license/certification/disbarred". Software developers push back with "yes, sir, how high, sir?" or "I quit".

Re: Silicon Valley is transforming the military-industrial complex? (2024)

#142

Post by monideas »

singleshot_ wrote: post #139
monideas wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most of what people call morality is just their own feelings or interest or some attempt to protect their ego, it's basically just an expression of narcissism. The cultivation of a sense of actual morality requires a lot of study and humility and quieting your own feelings and ego. This is very difficult and most people can't do it, ideally in a healthy society the elites you have are people who can and do do this. I…

People with morals are narcissists and Peter Thiel is humble. Well, that’s a point of view, I guess.

People with morals are moral. People often confuse morality with just their own feelings, interests, ego. If you don't understand this then likely you are not actually moral.

Re: Silicon Valley is transforming the military-industrial complex? (2024)

#143

Post by [deleted] »

SllX wrote: post #103
afavour wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it’s difficult to come up with hard and fast rules. But the fact that the US government (falsely) renamed their Department of Defense to Department of War is perhaps a useful signal.

Defense was always just a euphemism for War. That’s not the signal you think it is.

[deleted]

Re: Silicon Valley is transforming the military-industrial complex? (2024)

#144

Post by Manuel_D »

0cf8612b2e1e wrote: post #26
chanakya wrote: post #22

Serious question: should companies not participate in contracts from their country's defense department? Or is the argument that it's only US companies which shouldn't, because the US is uniquely evil?

Other countries probably focus quite a bit more on the defense aspect. How many times has the US military countered a hostile attacking force? Instead, I can think of significantly more instances where the US was instigating the situation.

The US stopped countless wars from starting in the first place due to deterrence. Look at Ukraine to see what happens to a country that isn't part of an alliance like NATO.

Re: Silicon Valley is transforming the military-industrial complex? (2024)

#145

Post by shimman »

charlesabarnes wrote: post #115
SllX wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Defense was always just a euphemism for War. That’s not the signal you think it is.

Why isn't it? The change was clearly made to indicate the posture of the department. Either to US citizens or to powers abroad. Even though its "just" words it indicates intent.

Because the US has mostly been an imperial force of evil among the world, not a net benefit outsides of the elites that benefit from the deliberate colonialism + death.

War Is a Racket is almost a 100 years old and it's about one man's feelings towards his manipulation in the banana wars [1] + middle east interventions. You can go back every century and see what damage colonialism has done both abroad and at home.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Wars

Re: Silicon Valley is transforming the military-industrial complex? (2024)

#146

Post by SllX »

charlesabarnes wrote: post #115
SllX wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Defense was always just a euphemism for War. That’s not the signal you think it is.

Why isn't it? The change was clearly made to indicate the posture of the department. Either to US citizens or to powers abroad. Even though its "just" words it indicates intent.

It was originally entitled “Department of War” and was changed after World War II for better PR. Whether it is called “Department of War” or “Department of Defense”, it’s still the same organization maintaining the same mission operating under the same budget.

Personally, I view “Department of War” as more honest, because War has always been its business.

Re: Silicon Valley is transforming the military-industrial complex? (2024)

#147

Post by SllX »

afavour wrote: post #118
SllX wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Defense was always just a euphemism for War. That’s not the signal you think it is.

If they have identical meanings then why’d they change it?

I answered this in a sibling comment to yours.

Re: Silicon Valley is transforming the military-industrial complex? (2024)

#148

Post by Manuel_D »

tessierashpool wrote: post #58
bpodgursky wrote: post #3

I mean... the market was handed to the prime defense contractors on a silver platter for decades, and they utterly failed to deliver cost-effective or even working solutions. It's not some 4d chess play by VCs, they just finally realized the market was dominated by the most disruptable enterprises on earth. Good riddance.

I hate to say it, but this is mostly true. reason I hate to say it is because companies like Palantir and Anduril are clearly pursuing political objectives, including subverting governance by creating tools which set the frame and context that governance happens in. if Palantir and Anduril were observing the same strict separation between political and military matters, and the same strict separation between domestic…

> companies like Palantir and Anduril are clearly pursuing political objectives, including subverting governance by creating tools which set the frame and context that governance happens in.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by this? How are these companies subverting governance?

Re: Silicon Valley is transforming the military-industrial complex? (2024)

#149

Post by [deleted] »

monideas wrote: post #142
singleshot_ wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People with morals are narcissists and Peter Thiel is humble. Well, that’s a point of view, I guess.

People with morals are moral. People often confuse morality with just their own feelings, interests, ego. If you don't understand this then likely you are not actually moral.

[deleted]

Re: Silicon Valley is transforming the military-industrial complex? (2024)

#150

Post by username_my1 »

MisterTea wrote: post #61
username_my1 wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the problem with capitalism. Nothing is ever enough, all the top tech companies, it's not enough that the conquered the global market, not enough that they dominated commerce, media, automotive, cloud, space ... it's not enough that they have the largest headcounts on the planet (outside India / China). they always need to do more and bigger the next quarter. no morals, no core market, no other guideline, sim…

> I really hope the Chinese keep killing everything that gets too big to fail. Be careful what you wish for. What happens when China gets too big to fail?

they don't have to answer for the next quarter, and that's good enough for me.
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