3 ms·

'I have to thank Facebook because it is giving me the true information in Myanmar.' What do you need, a flashing neon sign reading “tech” to be interested? He’

'I have to thank Facebook because it is giving me the true information in Myanmar.' What do you need, a flashing neon sign reading “tech” to be interested? He’s directly pointing to one of the 5 big Tech firms, it could not be more relevent. Given that, what’s your problem? You can argue a lot of things about this, but “not related to tech” isn’t one of them.

mankash666 9y ago
My problem is that he's focusing on the bias against a community, and not on Facebook's unique role in this. We don't have to turn HN into another activist platform for social justice, the internet is filled with such. Facebook seems to be the most viral/effective platform for spreading any (fake or true) news, and in this instance, the news was possibly harmful to a community. If not facebook, the perps would have relied on the next most viral platform. That still doesn't explain his cherry picking of comments that speak to bias more than tech. So, no - his comment is NOT relevant to tech!!
- pjc50 9y ago
  The effect of tech matters. It always has. We spent much of the middle of the 20th century working out the downsides of chemical technology, and the ever present risks from nuclear physics; digital tech can have its toxic waste spills and weaponisation like everything else.
  - domevent 9y ago
    You know how it goes, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” It’s all over this place, regrettably.
    - mankash666 9y ago
      You're completely wrong. Facebook's stock has crashed in the past week - perception very much matters. While virality is facebook's USP, there's no evidence that an alternative viral tech option would not have resulted in a similar outcome. It's convenient to blame facebook, and ignore the goverment's actions. And it's convenient to ignore the fact that facebook is infrastructure, like roads and electricity. When bad people use roads and electricity, you do not cut it off for the rest of society, or blame the roads for bad things
      - conradev 9y ago
        > When bad people use roads and electricity, you do not cut it off for the rest of society, or blame the roads for bad things No – instead, the government passes regulation to minimize the number of people that die on the roads. Your car needs to meet safety standards to drive on the road, it needs to be registered with the government, and you need to be licensed to drive it. Things that become interwoven in the fabric of society don't automatically just get a free pass. I would say the opposite happens, actually.
      - anigbrowl 9y ago
        Facebook isn't infrastructure like roads and electricity because it's not neutral. I don't hate FB, but it's a privately owned platform. Real infrastructure uses protocols, not platforms.
  - 52-6F-62 9y ago
    Every time this even becomes a question, I also feel compelled to point to the same things. Including one of my more important figures in those questions surrounding chemical technology and nuclear physics, paraphrasing an old Buddhist proverb: --- “To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven. The same key opens the gates of hell. And so it is with science.” Richard Feynman --- I'm continually baffled, though less surprised lately, how many people still think that they can shirk all responsibility. It's important to take time to consider what effects your work can have on the world, and not think anything and everything justified in the name of making money. At some point, we're all in it together.
    - domevent 9y ago
      Responsibility is hard, and most people are machines designed to find paths of least resistance.
- zpatel 9y ago
  Agree this is about tech, but then the other parts of the hate speech or misinformation on a community shouldn't be posted here, as it may leave a false impression..

mankash666 9y ago

My problem is that he's focusing on the bias against a community, and not on Facebook's unique role in this. We don't have to turn HN into another activist platform for social justice, the internet is filled with such. Facebook seems to be the most viral/effective platform for spreading any (fake or true) news, and in this instance, the news was possibly harmful to a community. If not facebook, the perps would have relied on the next most viral platform. That still doesn't explain his cherry picking of comments that speak to bias more than tech. So, no - his comment is NOT relevant to tech!!

pjc50 9y ago
The effect of tech matters. It always has. We spent much of the middle of the 20th century working out the downsides of chemical technology, and the ever present risks from nuclear physics; digital tech can have its toxic waste spills and weaponisation like everything else.
- domevent 9y ago
  You know how it goes, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” It’s all over this place, regrettably.
  - mankash666 9y ago
    You're completely wrong. Facebook's stock has crashed in the past week - perception very much matters. While virality is facebook's USP, there's no evidence that an alternative viral tech option would not have resulted in a similar outcome. It's convenient to blame facebook, and ignore the goverment's actions. And it's convenient to ignore the fact that facebook is infrastructure, like roads and electricity. When bad people use roads and electricity, you do not cut it off for the rest of society, or blame the roads for bad things
    - conradev 9y ago
      > When bad people use roads and electricity, you do not cut it off for the rest of society, or blame the roads for bad things No – instead, the government passes regulation to minimize the number of people that die on the roads. Your car needs to meet safety standards to drive on the road, it needs to be registered with the government, and you need to be licensed to drive it. Things that become interwoven in the fabric of society don't automatically just get a free pass. I would say the opposite happens, actually.
    - anigbrowl 9y ago
      Facebook isn't infrastructure like roads and electricity because it's not neutral. I don't hate FB, but it's a privately owned platform. Real infrastructure uses protocols, not platforms.
- 52-6F-62 9y ago
  Every time this even becomes a question, I also feel compelled to point to the same things. Including one of my more important figures in those questions surrounding chemical technology and nuclear physics, paraphrasing an old Buddhist proverb: --- “To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven. The same key opens the gates of hell. And so it is with science.” Richard Feynman --- I'm continually baffled, though less surprised lately, how many people still think that they can shirk all responsibility. It's important to take time to consider what effects your work can have on the world, and not think anything and everything justified in the name of making money. At some point, we're all in it together.
  - domevent 9y ago
    Responsibility is hard, and most people are machines designed to find paths of least resistance.
zpatel 9y ago
Agree this is about tech, but then the other parts of the hate speech or misinformation on a community shouldn't be posted here, as it may leave a false impression..