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>The cynical dystopian insinuation around technology, on a technology site no less, is getting old. A technology site is exactly the place for cynicism about t

by cirgue 9y ago

>The cynical dystopian insinuation around technology, on a technology site no less, is getting old. A technology site is exactly the place for cynicism about technology. The idea of seeing an ad for a suicide hotilne on a social media site is even more distopian than the op's crack about mandatory happiness.

AndrewKemendo 9y ago
A technology site is exactly the place for cynicism about technology. I disagree, because I think we need to be the idealists and drivers instead of those pushing back, but I also don't think yours is necessarily an unreasonable position to have. The idea of seeing an ad for a suicide hotilne on a social media site is even more distopian than the op's crack about mandatory happiness I'm not sure I follow why. Ideally an offline social network (like your friends and family) would correctly infer your mental state from interactions and be able to intervene appropriately. A digital social network, where your friends and family, as well as the digital homunculus are all observing your activity should be able to infer your mental state as well, if not better than the offline system and intervene where necessary as well.
- thinkfurther 9y ago
  Except the network can't compare with non-members, so it can't even assess whether it itself is part of the problem, and whether the social network committing suicide would be the best intervention of all. That's just unthinkable. It's like trying to make a TV show that makes people happy, instead of encouraging them to turn off their TV which is likely to have drastically better results. You can write a script about turning off the TV, you can have a show about people who hate their TV and are heroes, but you cannot not make an episode, the network has no slot for that. When I see Zuckerberg's fake, forced smile, I see a person trapped under there somewhere crying for help. I don't even mean this in a snarky way, I don't hate the guy, and I'm interested in the "Bill Gates transformation of being less insecure". But still, anyone near that and oblivious to it should read and listen when it comes to mental health, not talk and certainly not write algorithms that "intervene". If FB was able to want to help with it on any meaningful level, it would either disband or change drastically, and not have "be middleman for everything" as goal number one like so many do. > idealists and drivers instead of those pushing back You say this like there is a train, and it either moves or doesn't. Instead it's a multi-dimensional space with a million things that can all change position and shape and color. Technology isn't the question, but who is using it, why and for what.
- cirgue 9y ago
  The universe of human endeavor is not a line between backwardness and progress. Social medial platforms could evolve into more robust means of communication, tools of brutal oppression, advertising-saturated hellscapes, monuments to human vanity, or slightly more advanced contacts lists. They already are most of these things and more. What direction or combination of directions this technology takes will be determined by 'idealists' and 'drivers'. These will not be the people sitting on the sidelines and cheering, but rather the cynical, dissatisfied, and imaginative people who have the capacity and desire to envision a tech landscape dramatically different than the one we currently occupy.

by cirgue 9y ago

AndrewKemendo 9y ago

A technology site is exactly the place for cynicism about technology. I disagree, because I think we need to be the idealists and drivers instead of those pushing back, but I also don't think yours is necessarily an unreasonable position to have. The idea of seeing an ad for a suicide hotilne on a social media site is even more distopian than the op's crack about mandatory happiness I'm not sure I follow why. Ideally an offline social network (like your friends and family) would correctly infer your mental state from interactions and be able to intervene appropriately. A digital social network, where your friends and family, as well as the digital homunculus are all observing your activity should be able to infer your mental state as well, if not better than the offline system and intervene where necessary as well.

thinkfurther 9y ago
Except the network can't compare with non-members, so it can't even assess whether it itself is part of the problem, and whether the social network committing suicide would be the best intervention of all. That's just unthinkable. It's like trying to make a TV show that makes people happy, instead of encouraging them to turn off their TV which is likely to have drastically better results. You can write a script about turning off the TV, you can have a show about people who hate their TV and are heroes, but you cannot not make an episode, the network has no slot for that. When I see Zuckerberg's fake, forced smile, I see a person trapped under there somewhere crying for help. I don't even mean this in a snarky way, I don't hate the guy, and I'm interested in the "Bill Gates transformation of being less insecure". But still, anyone near that and oblivious to it should read and listen when it comes to mental health, not talk and certainly not write algorithms that "intervene". If FB was able to want to help with it on any meaningful level, it would either disband or change drastically, and not have "be middleman for everything" as goal number one like so many do. > idealists and drivers instead of those pushing back You say this like there is a train, and it either moves or doesn't. Instead it's a multi-dimensional space with a million things that can all change position and shape and color. Technology isn't the question, but who is using it, why and for what.
cirgue 9y ago
The universe of human endeavor is not a line between backwardness and progress. Social medial platforms could evolve into more robust means of communication, tools of brutal oppression, advertising-saturated hellscapes, monuments to human vanity, or slightly more advanced contacts lists. They already are most of these things and more. What direction or combination of directions this technology takes will be determined by 'idealists' and 'drivers'. These will not be the people sitting on the sidelines and cheering, but rather the cynical, dissatisfied, and imaginative people who have the capacity and desire to envision a tech landscape dramatically different than the one we currently occupy.