11–20 of 134 posts
Many of the reasons he stated can also be applied to VC funding: > One thing that makes the slope so slippery is that you have accumulated responsibility for a lab full of graduate students, and the consequences of a major drop in funding will be even more painful for them than it is for you.
Wrong. The United States is inexorably in conflict nations whose domestic policy failures cause them to act in often violent ways that threaten US interests. If academia adopted Kuipers' position we would be no closer to peace, and much closer to living under another country's tyranny. Ask the people of Tibet as just one example.
Good for him. Disclaimer: I'm a recent PhD grad from MIT doing computer vision for military satellite imaging
But if the military really really wanted to, couldn't it just "launder" their funding via "worthy humanitarian" causes?
The government could find a more socially palatable institution (or possibly create one from scratch) and funnels the research money through that. The unknowing scientist then thinks his cognitive maps is fighting cancer cells or detecting crime but in reality, it's going to ultimately end up in a cruise missile. Like a lot of basic research, the knowledge can be legitimately applied to humanitarian purposes so those laundering schemes are not a total fiction in terms of beneficial results for society. It's impossible to disentangle good-vs-evil uses of knowledge or technology.
I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from abandoning their principles but I think the government can invent clever ways of disguising their goals. E.g. A mechanical engineer that wouldn't work on exoskeletons for Army soldiers to help kill people but would feel ethically ok with funding from a charity[0] to help paraplegics gain freedom of movement. Since the scientist can't know the provenance of all funds, maybe he's still helping the Army after all.
[0] e.g.: https://www.unitedspinal.org/
https://slashdot.org/story/12/04/03/1656224/mitch-altman-par...
This is a principled stance, and one I vehemently agree with. I wish more in our line of work would so actively reject associating with those who deal in violence (whether “justified” or not).
> I actually am fairly uncomfortable about it, even if our firm stipulation was that they cannot tell us what to do. We are simply doing what we do anyways - securing software - and they have no say in the matter. I try to convince myself that our grant means a half of a cruise missile doesn't get built.
[0]: https://www.smh.com.au/technology/openbsd-loses-funding-due-...
"The goal of the military is to settle international conflict through violence." That is misleading. The purpose of the military is to safeguard the interests of our country through its presence and--if necessary--decisive violence. No US military leader wants to fight a war; that notion is absurd. Don't confuse the desires of the military with the occasional desires of its civilian leadership.
It may be absurd but it's not unrealistic; there is historical precedent.
Don't underestimate the power of ideology to override rationality.
"The goal of the military is to settle international conflict through violence." That is misleading. The purpose of the military is to safeguard the interests of our country through its presence and--if necessary--decisive violence. No US military leader wants to fight a war; that notion is absurd. Don't confuse the desires of the military with the occasional desires of its civilian leadership.
With respect, that amount to much of the same with different words. Not that I disagree with you or him, just pointing out that to me you two differ in you points of view, not in substance.
>, after completing my PhD thesis on cognitive maps, I found that the only funding agency that was interested in supporting my research wanted to build smart cruise missiles that could find their way to their targets. This was not what I wanted my life's work to support. But if the military really really wanted to, couldn't it just "launder" their funding via "worthy humanitarian" causes? The government could find a…