3 ms·

> Is there an overarching bias to the advance of communication systems? Technology enthusiasts like Kelly would argue that there is — a bias toward greater free

> Is there an overarching bias to the advance of communication systems? Technology enthusiasts like Kelly would argue that there is — a bias toward greater freedom, democracy, and social harmony Technology itself has its advantages, but scrutiny is needed for how it is put to use by large corporations with lots of power. A healthy discussion needs to happen around the role of platforms which are gaining influence into people's emotional lives. But is that a technology thing or a business/ethics thing? I used to love the communities on USENET; and many IRC channels still exhibit some of that vibe. Even web forums centered around special interests are great communication tools and (can) bring people together. But building centralized communication tools (1:1 tools or group/tribe tools) around advertisement and making those the primary mode of communication for people is something new for society and I'm not sure this is for the best. The large companies that run them answer to shareholders and have fiduciary obligations to them. Instead of "provide a communication tool and monetize with ads, hoping they don't degrade the experience too much", they are doing what we expect of any large business: "maximize shareholder value and hope the communication tools don't cross too many ethics boundaries". I work in technology and have greatly benefited from it. I also see positive and negative impacts around me. To me, the real question is whether technology is improving the lives of ALL people or just those like me who happen to have a vested interest in it.

TimJYoung 8y ago
Great post. My wife and I have conversations about this all of the time, especially the FB vs. good 'ole web forums discussion. I think the issue with centralized communication tools is that we haven't figured out the "shame" thing yet. Or, perhaps, it isn't even possible to scale up shaming. There's a lot of evidence that scaling up shaming simply results in its weaponization (the internet doesn't do nuance...). Watching Roseanne on Joe Rogan this week was simply heart-breaking. The speed with which her entire career and body of work was tossed in the garbage really makes me think that it isn't possible.
- invalidOrTaken 8y ago
  I think either the Internet will self-regulate by developing a "hey let's not lynch people" norm, or the brick-and-mortar crowd will slowly develop some backbone against Twitter mobs. I can't predict the future. But I'm a great fan of that quote: "If something can't go on this way forever...it will stop."
  - TimJYoung 8y ago
    Yes, that is a great quote - a lot of insight packed into a short sentence. I cannot seem to remember where I saw this said (it was a video, probably Sam Harris's podcast), but it was effectively the same idea: we're simply going to adapt in a way that allows everything to keep moving forward. I must say that, as a developer, this answer was completely unsatisfying. It doesn't sound like a "flip a switch" kind of solution... ;-)
- 0xffff2 8y ago
  > The speed with which her entire career and body of work was tossed in the garbage really makes me think that it isn't possible. Are you saying it shouldn't have been thrown in the garbage? I don't pay much attention to the entertainment world, including that incident, but I just lookup up the tweet that triggered the whole thing. I can't think of any context in which I would have any desire to show any support at all for a person who would tweet such a thing. If you feel differently, could you expand a bit on why?
  - TimJYoung 8y ago
    You can watch the Joe Rogan episode on YouTube to see her side of the story in its entirety. But, regardless of what she gives as the reasons for this particular tweet: no, there is no way that someone should be judged entirely by the contents of a single tweet. A tweet is a very poor summary of one's character or who they really are, especially if the judgement of the author was impaired. Everything that I've seen indicates that Roseanne is actually very liberal, has been for many years, and that she is in no way a racist person.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]

TimJYoung 8y ago

Great post. My wife and I have conversations about this all of the time, especially the FB vs. good 'ole web forums discussion. I think the issue with centralized communication tools is that we haven't figured out the "shame" thing yet. Or, perhaps, it isn't even possible to scale up shaming. There's a lot of evidence that scaling up shaming simply results in its weaponization (the internet doesn't do nuance...). Watching Roseanne on Joe Rogan this week was simply heart-breaking. The speed with which her entire career and body of work was tossed in the garbage really makes me think that it isn't possible.

invalidOrTaken 8y ago
I think either the Internet will self-regulate by developing a "hey let's not lynch people" norm, or the brick-and-mortar crowd will slowly develop some backbone against Twitter mobs. I can't predict the future. But I'm a great fan of that quote: "If something can't go on this way forever...it will stop."
- TimJYoung 8y ago
  Yes, that is a great quote - a lot of insight packed into a short sentence. I cannot seem to remember where I saw this said (it was a video, probably Sam Harris's podcast), but it was effectively the same idea: we're simply going to adapt in a way that allows everything to keep moving forward. I must say that, as a developer, this answer was completely unsatisfying. It doesn't sound like a "flip a switch" kind of solution... ;-)
0xffff2 8y ago
> The speed with which her entire career and body of work was tossed in the garbage really makes me think that it isn't possible. Are you saying it shouldn't have been thrown in the garbage? I don't pay much attention to the entertainment world, including that incident, but I just lookup up the tweet that triggered the whole thing. I can't think of any context in which I would have any desire to show any support at all for a person who would tweet such a thing. If you feel differently, could you expand a bit on why?
- TimJYoung 8y ago
  You can watch the Joe Rogan episode on YouTube to see her side of the story in its entirety. But, regardless of what she gives as the reasons for this particular tweet: no, there is no way that someone should be judged entirely by the contents of a single tweet. A tweet is a very poor summary of one's character or who they really are, especially if the judgement of the author was impaired. Everything that I've seen indicates that Roseanne is actually very liberal, has been for many years, and that she is in no way a racist person.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]