And yet... he hasn't resigned from Amazon?
The tech sector might be evil
41–50 of 233 posts
Re: The tech sector might be evil
#42Of all these players, Apple is positioned best for the future, and I think, it is a testament to Tim Cook's vision. Under Cook, Apple has consistently positioned itself as a guardian of people's privacy. Big changes are coming. The way things are developing, it will be the state vs the big tech, because the Big Tech thinks it can use the data of citizens and it belong to the Big Tech. The state thinks otherwise.
It is Google, FB, Yelp and others, who have taken the information that we supplied, they monopolized it to deliver what? The targeted ads. That's how creative they are...
Yesterday, a friend of mine, was congratulated for Rosh Hashana by FB:NASDAQ on her FB stream. How does it even know it?! What business does it even have to know her Jewishness?
The whole Zuck thing is creepy.
Re: The tech sector might be evil
#43What sucks is I can't just tell my friends "you're working for an evil company -- just look at {insert 5 evil things they did in the past couple years}". It sucks even more that these are some of the kindest and most caring people I know, with better moral character than myself -- I almost feel they somehow got brainwashed into their jobs. But who would enjoy hearing that? At best they would ignore it; at worst you'd…
Best advice is don't do this. Your friends are adults, and 1000 people work for a company for 1000 different reasons. It is a job after all. Not everyone is comfortable being given moral lectures.
Re: The tech sector might be evil
#44He links to a very long Atlantic article about Tristan Harris’ views on how we should control our attention.
After reading and reading and reading about things like “he met me flushed from a Yoga class” and getting more and more frustrated trying to sift out the useful political message, it occurred to me that this was an article designed to hook into humans’ inherent need for narrative and protagonists.
Re: The tech sector might be evil
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
What is the level of culpability for a foot soldier in the army of an evil dictator? What is the level if they committed no atrocities? How about if they were an active participant? How about if they were zealous and inspired new levels of atrocious behavior? I don't have an answer and those are rhetorical questions. The point I'm laboring to make is that there are varied levels of culpability. There are also varied…
Soldiers typically have a duty to refuse immoral orders.
A duty to whom? In most armies and wars, insisting to refuse an order, moral or not, will get you in front of a firing squad (or, if it's a really civilized army, in jail).
Re: The tech sector might be evil
#46I never thought that Hacker News would become a forum for discussion on the evils of technology. It's good that a lot of people seem to share my point of view on corporations now. Awareness is the first step to fixing the problem.
Re: The tech sector might be evil
#47Not to mention the many (ex) friends working for "defense" contractors. Ex because I really can't be friends with them any longer. Evil quotes deployed because calling it defense is a farce considering what the systems they are developing are used for.
If persons employer determines your friendship status with them, then maybe they are better off not being associated with you.
It goes both ways. It is hard to be friends with someone that makes fundamentally different moral choices.
Re: The tech sector might be evil
#48Not to mention the many (ex) friends working for "defense" contractors. Ex because I really can't be friends with them any longer. Evil quotes deployed because calling it defense is a farce considering what the systems they are developing are used for.
If persons employer determines your friendship status with them, then maybe they are better off not being associated with you.
That’s a misreading of OP’s point: it’s not the employer that they have a problem with, it’s the morality of their employment.
Re: The tech sector might be evil
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah I know. But it's also true that if they tried to do the opposite of what they were told (or if they just refused) then they'd get fired. So what do you do?
The most productive thing: Voice dissent. Ensure the higher-ups have thought through their position and the consequences. Assume they know things you don't. Ultimately, follow the order. Once it's their call, you're absolved of any responsibility. Both morally and in every meaningful sense.
Higherups will usually defend by hiding behind the process - aka the virtual will and orders of the social golem that is a company.
And nobody alone is responsible for the process. There is not necessary a feeling of responsibility on top- just because powers are granted by the process.
Re: The tech sector might be evil
#50Earlier quoted context omitted.
What is the level of culpability for a foot soldier in the army of an evil dictator? What is the level if they committed no atrocities? How about if they were an active participant? How about if they were zealous and inspired new levels of atrocious behavior? I don't have an answer and those are rhetorical questions. The point I'm laboring to make is that there are varied levels of culpability. There are also varied…
Soldiers typically have a duty to refuse immoral orders.
Its totally imoral to not burn witches.
Morals is a totally redefinable system.