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I am over thirty, so I am permitted to be cynical ;). While I completely agree that AR and VR are the future and have many recreational and non-recreational app

I am over thirty, so I am permitted to be cynical ;). While I completely agree that AR and VR are the future and have many recreational and non-recreational applications, Facebook's goal for VR is to further read user preferences (I guess that they've wished to have eye tracking on Facebook for ages) and to inject advertising in more subtle manners. So, the question is: do you really want to work for Facebook (et al.) and get the technology patent-locked to be used for reading of, influencing of, and advertising to people? Or do you want to change the world for the common good? It is worrying that so much talent gets 'lost' [1] to spying/advertising companies because universities and non-profits cannot match or come close to the (personal) benefits of working at such companies. [1] I am not denying that the big tech companies have provided a lot of progress.

humanrebar 9y ago
> Or do you want to change the world for the common good? Suggestions? It seems to me that "lost" effort is a very normal state of things. Even if we picked a worthy cause and worked cleverly and tirelessly for it, the our successors could easily come in and trash our work. It also seems to me that the real "change the world" technologies don't solve problems but change our day-to-day lives: the printing press, cars, PCs, radio, television, consumer-focused logistics (Wal-Mart, Amazon delivery), vaccines, sanitation, running water, electricity, etc. Not all of these things are good. Not all are bad. But when Silicon Valley people say "change the world", they don't usually mean "work for (the next) Ford" or "work for (the next) AT&T".
- AstralStorm 9y ago
  These technologies do solve problems in a big way: - printing press solved the problem of mass distribution of written knowledge and propaganda (By the way, invented by Chinese not Gutenberg but got lost in political turmoil), also paper money - cars solved a problem of slow transport and having to care for fussy animals - radio solved the problem of long range communication - vaccines solved the problem of certain recurring plagues - likewise sanitation - running water solved a problem of having to walk long distances especially to irrigate crops (aqueducts, Babylonian invention) - electricity solved a problem of cheap transport of energy (as opposed to coal for steam boilers) Consumer focused logistics is much older than both Wal-Mart and Amazon. And does not really solve a problem in as much as is an optimization over older delivery methods.
davidivadavid 9y ago
I'm not crazy about Facebook as a company either, but is it fair to assume that they'll keep the same business model forever?
- uoaei 9y ago
  It's a less error-prone approach than speculating on how they might improve in the future and using that to judge their present actions.

humanrebar 9y ago

> Or do you want to change the world for the common good? Suggestions? It seems to me that "lost" effort is a very normal state of things. Even if we picked a worthy cause and worked cleverly and tirelessly for it, the our successors could easily come in and trash our work. It also seems to me that the real "change the world" technologies don't solve problems but change our day-to-day lives: the printing press, cars, PCs, radio, television, consumer-focused logistics (Wal-Mart, Amazon delivery), vaccines, sanitation, running water, electricity, etc. Not all of these things are good. Not all are bad. But when Silicon Valley people say "change the world", they don't usually mean "work for (the next) Ford" or "work for (the next) AT&T".

AstralStorm 9y ago
These technologies do solve problems in a big way: - printing press solved the problem of mass distribution of written knowledge and propaganda (By the way, invented by Chinese not Gutenberg but got lost in political turmoil), also paper money - cars solved a problem of slow transport and having to care for fussy animals - radio solved the problem of long range communication - vaccines solved the problem of certain recurring plagues - likewise sanitation - running water solved a problem of having to walk long distances especially to irrigate crops (aqueducts, Babylonian invention) - electricity solved a problem of cheap transport of energy (as opposed to coal for steam boilers) Consumer focused logistics is much older than both Wal-Mart and Amazon. And does not really solve a problem in as much as is an optimization over older delivery methods.

davidivadavid 9y ago

I'm not crazy about Facebook as a company either, but is it fair to assume that they'll keep the same business model forever?

uoaei 9y ago
It's a less error-prone approach than speculating on how they might improve in the future and using that to judge their present actions.