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Tim Cook: Technology Should Serve Humanity, Not the Other Way Around
- federal 9y agoSo is he going to lobby for a massive overhaul of Foxconn's employment practices?
- xname2 9y agoSo you think "a massive overhaul of Foxconn's employment practices" will serve humanity?
- federal 9y agoYes.
- rm_-rf_slash 9y agoInjustice anywhere is injustice everywhere.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- jlaskdf768 9y agoIf you have an app filling your database with bad data, do you just take an extra step of writing a tool to correct bad data after the fact? I'd rather fix the app itself so that it isn't sending bad data. "Fixing Foxconn" is taking bad output and correcting it. It's not fixing the app generating bad data.
- glhaynes 9y agoPresumably he'd point you toward https://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/ https://www.apple.com/supplier-responsibility/, especially the "2017 Progress Report" toward the top of that page. Edit: I don't post that to defend Cook/Apple, just to point out that Apple has done quite a bit of talking about this topic since the bad old days when they really did need to make some changes. Have they done "enough"? I have no idea, and would love to hear someone knowledgable criticize the steps they've taken so far.
- jly 9y agoI opened this up just for fun. I'll start by saying I do think Apple is doing quite a bit in this regard and are pushing things forward towards better working conditions. Having said that, what is still considered "acceptable" and worthy of touting is pretty sad, although I guess it is compared with where we they were just a few years ago. Flipping to page 9, they list 98% compliance with international working hours limits, touting "Full-time doesn't mean you should work all the time." Compliant in this case is a 60-hour workweek with 1 day off every 7 days (presumably this is not an occasional duration but rather a normal week at a fixed wage). If this is the case, technology sure isn't serving these unlucky humans very well.
- webwielder2 9y agoApple has done more than any other American company to improve working conditions in China.
- ebbv 9y agoEven if that's true, it does not mean they have done enough.
- blipmusic 9y agoThat's fair enough as long as other companies and their customers are held equally responsible. Just because we sometimes/always use linux does not mean the hardware we run it on has an equally "clean" background. Also, we buy too much stuff, meaning too much stuff is being produced... etc.
- collyw 9y agoWhat do you base that claim on?
- mikestew 9y agoFrom your reading of the article, is that within the context of what the article was referencing? Because I'm reading nothing that indicates to me that the conversation/interview had anything to do with manufacturing or employment practices. Additionally, I would argue that "employment practices" have little or nothing to do with "technology".
- federal 9y agoThat's a fair point - the article pretty clearly has a different focus than what I was alluding to. My point is more that if Tim Cook is going to make these sort of surface level musings about how AI/tech will need to remain tools of humans I think it's important for him to realize that ultimately there are still humans who are tools of other humans. Also I personally think that 'technology' permeates and oozes into nearly all aspects of our lives at this point. I think you're correct in that strictly domain knowledge regarding technology wouldn't involve discussing employment practices; however, real world applications of tech very much so involves a discussion of employment practices. When Cook makes comments that "he’s not comfortable with automating the human entirely out of the equation." -- I understand he's focusing on the integration of AI into human systems but I'd be more than willing to bet that he is perfectly comfortable with automating the labor out of the equation - and therefore a human out of the equation - by cutting costs through a fully automated production line.
- metaphorm 9y agomore context for the headline quote. FTA: "While he calls AI “profound” and increasingly capable of doing unbelievable things, on matters that require judgment he’s not comfortable with automating the human entirely out of the equation. “When technological advancement can go up so exponentially I do think there’s a risk of losing sight of the fact that tech should serve humanity, not the other way around.” he's talking about AI here.
- meesterdude 9y agoThis is a pretty ironic statement, given their entire product design is built to serve apple, and the users are often secondary to that or ignored entirely; such as making UI more difficult on purpose so you're more inclined to use siri, or buying music instead of bringing your own. I dont see AI at apple being any different. Its for them FIRST, us second, if at all. "humanity" may as well mean corporations since they are comprised of humans, but the general public will bare the costs in the end.
- plokiju 9y agoDo you have any examples of them making bad UI to get people to use siri?
- chollida1 9y agoThat's easy. The most common thing to do with my iPHone is hit the button. They overloaded the button to load Siri if its held for even a fraction of a second too long. 99 times out of 100 I don't want to use siri but she continually pops up. Trying to click to get back to the home screen.... here's Siri. Trying to double click the button, to kill an app..... here comes Siri So to answer the question.... 1) They made Siri enabled by default, something that I can't see myself ever wanting. 2) They made Siri come up using the button, again something that almost always means when siri comes up its by accident and not indented. Apple isn't immune from "dark patterns" in their UI. The Siri example above being the most egregious example I can think of.
- blipmusic 9y agoTurn it off then? It's in the settings. Can't say I particularly like Siri either but not using it works so far. So what's a real example of Apple making the UI worse to further their agenda (i.e. selling more stuff)?
- ChrisLTD 9y agoI'm sure being able to access Siri from a prominent button was boon to users that have little or no eye sight. Also, recall this was added to iPhones before any other major phone had similar built-in functionality.
- paapi__gudiya 9y agoWhy is the Hacker News community up-voting these blatant PR pieces? This statement coming from Tim Cook seems like a joke.
- skookumchuck 9y agoYeah, it's a platitude, not anything insightful.
- blazespin 9y agoRead the article. It's practically a death knell for iOS. If iOS can't come to grips with figuring out how to let AI get more access to the user, it could lose the AI race against Google. Already, people are installing Google Assistant on their iPhones. You have to understand, that the future may make most apps other than games and entertainment, completely irrelevant. You just want a Web Browser and an AI Agent.
- ihaveahadron 9y agoOh save the earth. The point of saving the earth is to save HUMANS. "Why cant peole die and why cant the rocks and magma survive blah blah hdgdfdd" TG e. The fuck
- xroche 9y agoDoes it mean that technology companies should pay their taxes, to serve humanity, rather than playing tax optimization tricks ?
- blazespin 9y agoIntense article. If you read it carefully and between the lines, you see the real future battle lines between iOS and Android, and they center around AI and privacy.
- hdjddjtjtj55 9y agoThis thread is a hell hole One on hand "Company doesn't satisfy my $overly_specific gripe! They're an enemy of humanity!" On the other "nuh uh!"
- threatofrain 9y agoWhat is the other way around -- that humanity should service technology? What does humanity servicing technology mean? That depends on who is controlling the technology, and that often means corporations and the elite classes that control it on top.
- mdotk 9y agohumanity serves technology... like being glued to a screen all day