Anonymous Google Employees Voted Arms Control Persons of the Year

Post by jka » Thu, Jan 10, 2019, 10:18 PM UTC

jka wrote: post #89

drak0n1c wrote: post #6

Unfortunately, the divide between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon will be bad for national security in the long run. Recent news cycles keep revealing yet another piece military equipment suffering from software weaknesses. Technology does not stand still, if Russia and China have more of their most talented engineers willing to work on national projects than us that will inevitably lead to a competence gap. Here is…

Transparent de-escalation is the solution, not the age-old rhetoric of 'staying ahead in the arms-race'. _Most_ people regardless of country of residence or origin want a peaceful and fulfilled, free life. You can never please everyone but arguing from basis of 'fear of the other' is a bit disingenuous and leads to these literal arms races. That's not to say defense spending isn't important, but it has to be stressed…

Post by drak0n1c » Thu, Jan 10, 2019, 10:23 PM UTC

NewsAware wrote: post #38

Apocryphon wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The U.S. arms industry is huge, and so is defense spending. If the DoD wants better talent, then budget accordingly and pay high salaries and fix up their recruitment messages and surely some smart CS grads will go to them. Why should our military be dependent upon SV civilian companies that have workers who don’t want to work on military applications? Then just hire the ones who do, fund new military-oriented startu…

They are paying to play -that's how outsourcing works. The high salary of Google devs is priced into the contracts the pentagon pays. So it's not an issue of salary level but of their inability to build up an internal structure (to which their public image among the SV crowd contributes) which causes them problems. Can this be solved? Maybe, but not simply by raising salaries.

Post by ddoolin » Thu, Jan 10, 2019, 10:28 PM UTC

drak0n1c wrote: post #6

Unfortunately, the divide between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon will be bad for national security in the long run. Recent news cycles keep revealing yet another piece military equipment suffering from software weaknesses. Technology does not stand still, if Russia and China have more of their most talented engineers willing to work on national projects than us that will inevitably lead to a competence gap. Here is…

Post by darawk » Thu, Jan 10, 2019, 10:32 PM UTC

JohnFen wrote: post #92

darawk wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So we haven't moved an inch past the old lie that "might makes right", then? How utterly depressing. Might makes right to decide what is right. That is now and always will be the case.

I guess that depends on how you define "right". Might lets you impose your will on others. Being successful in doing so does not speak to whether or not your will is right.

Post by avmich » Thu, Jan 10, 2019, 10:37 PM UTC

darawk wrote: post #86

abugheratwork wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You just claimed that if we don't get them they'll get us, and then called someone childish.

> You just claimed that if we don't get them they'll get us No I didn't. Read what I said again.